One Sacrifice Too Many
by Vacronix
Summary: In the midst of the final battle, Naruto believes he has lost someone very dear to him, someone he never knew he was so close to. Seeking a way to end the pain, who else but the Nine-tailed Fox gives him the only solution: time travel. Given the chance to do everything over again, with a bit more help this time, how will things change?
1. The Alpha and the Omega

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

A/N: The beginning of this story is based on what happens in chapter 614 in the manga. If you are for some reason not caught up to that point and wish to avoid some spoilers, then I suggest you get caught up so you can enjoy my story as well!

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**Chapter 1:** _The Alpha and the Omega_

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Naruto was exhausted, as were Hinata, Neji, and Hiashi, from defending against the numerous wooden spears being fired at them from the Juubi; Naruto from using multiple Rasenshuriken, and the Hyuuga from using their Rotation and Vacuum Palms. All of them were short on chakra, and Kurama needed more time before his chakra could be used by Naruto again. The timing could not be worse, however, as they found that the next volley of spears was focused solely on Naruto. With none of them able to properly defend him from the attack, Naruto thought his life was about to end.

And yet, what Naruto saw next was far more horrifying than his own death. Before anyone could stop her, Hinata used her own body as a shield in order to keep the love of her life alive. And in her mind, why should she not? Without him, this war would be over. Without him, they were all as good as dead. Without him, she had no desire to continue on. For her, this was the only possible choice.

Seeing Hinata impaled by the spears forced Naruto to relive his treasured memories of Hinata in a single instant. He remembered how she was during the Chuunin Exams: how she had wanted him to cheat off of her during the written portion, how she had faced a superior opponent in Neji during the preliminaries and refused to give in, how she had encouraged him before his own fight with Neji in the final round. He remembered how she had faced down Pain when it seemed he could no longer fight on his own and confessed her love and admiration for him. And finally he remembered what she had just done; how she had thrown herself in the way of an attack meant for him and now stood on Death's doorstep in his place.

Naruto was watching as Hinata, one of the only people who had ever been unconditionally good to him from the time he had known them, began to die.

It was too much for him.

* * *

In another instant Naruto found himself silently crying inside his own mind, with no one save for the Nine-tailed Fox to keep him company. He began to speak aloud for Kurama to listen to his anguish.

"Another precious person that I wasn't able to save. Hinata had always been kind to me, even from the start when so many others saw nothing but a demon in human skin; she had only ever seen me for me. And now she's going to die because I wasn't strong enough to protect her. She even l-loved me." Naruto found his tears coming quicker and his breathing more labored. "W-why did she h-have to d-d-die!? It sh-should have been m-me! I'm tired o-of people d-d-dying for me! Maybe I-I should let Madara's M-Moon's Eye Plan c-come to pass, and s-stop the endless s-slaughter..."

"**Get a hold of yourself, Naruto!"** bellowed Kurama as he tried to bring Naruto back to his senses. **"You know as well as I do how that bastard Madara's plan will work. None will have true happiness or peace, save for perhaps Madara himself. What he wants is something fake: pretty words with no substance, with no one truly in control of themselves. Is that what you want now Naruto? _To be controlled?_"**

"All I want now is to be with Hinata" Naruto said as he began to calm down a bit. "But she's about to die and I've realized far too late just how much I care about her, so now there's no more time for that. Maybe if I were to die here I could join with her in another life or the afterlife or whatever the hell happens to you after you die. I know Madara's stupid plan won't bring anything real to anybody, but at least more people will be left alive."

"**... Very well. I didn't want to have to do this but perhaps it will be for the best."**

"What do you mean, Kurama? What can you possibly do to fix this!?"

"**I told you to get a hold of yourself! Now keep quiet and listen. I possess a certain jutsu that no human could possibly do that will save her without fail."** Naruto went completely still at this statement and listened intently; whatever it took to save Hinata at this point, Naruto wanted it done. **"However, know that I can only use it once every few hundred years, so if you screw up like this again I won't be able to fix it. You only get once chance to do this."**

"Whatever it is Kurama, I'm ready for it! I don't care what it takes to save Hinata, please, just please, do it!"

"**I'm glad to see you've regained your conviction. The jutsu is basically time travel."** Naruto's eyes went wide and his mouth hung open at this. **"I see you understand the power behind such a thing. But we have little time to ponder; it would be best if I started as soon as possible. Now tell me: how far back do you want to go?"**

"Um... how far back can you go?"

"**I can go back as far as 10 years but we certainly don't need to go back that far to save the girl."**

"True enough..." Naruto said quietly, as he quickly thought about how much of the past he would change if given a chance. He could save so many lives and stop so many horrible things from happening. He could even do things differently with Hinata. "... But there's so much more we could do if we go back further! So much more that we could change for the better, not to mention how we could prepare more for everything that's happened, and is happening right this moment."

"**I see where you're coming from and I understand your want to do this, but I must caution you. Time is not something to be trifled with, and with the information you have a lot of things can go awry depending on how your actions in that timeline will differ from this one. Trust me, I know from experience. And there is _no going back_. Make sure you want to do this, and then quickly tell me the time in your life you want to go back to."**

"Like I said before Kurama, I'm ready" Naruto said with a slight smile on his face. "And the time I want to go to is the beginning of my last year at the academy when I was 11. That's fine, right?"

"**Of course, now just let me tell you a few last minute things. First of all, keep in mind that although you're bringing with you all of your knowledge and techniques from this time, you'll still be in the body you had when you were 11, that means less chakra and less physical strength. Second, and I'm sure this is obvious but it's worth saying for emphasis, don't go running around telling everyone you're a time traveler or showing off abilities that you should not have, that would just open a nice big can of worms for us that neither of us would want to deal with. Last, but not least, while I, along with anyone else you are in physical contact with upon the jutsu's activation, will also retain memories of this timeline, know that I will be locked back up in that infernal prison. And while we will still be partners, we will need the key from Jiraiya to unlock the prison once more to get back to our full potential."**

Naruto nodded his head in understanding and agreement of everything Kurama said, but one of the last things got him slightly excited. "So, once the jutsu activates, I just have to be touching someone and they'll also remember everything?"

Kurama smiled, showing off every single one of his unbelievably sharp teeth in mutual understanding. **"So, you wish for the girl to accompany you through time? How sweet of you"** Kurama said with a small chuckle and a smirk on his face. Naruto smirked right back and turned around to leave his mindscape, ready to do what needed to be done. As he walked he looked back and began to speak.

"You're damn right. Well, we've talked for long enough, so you go ahead and focus on what you need to do. Just keep an eye on me and you'll know when to activate your jutsu. And one last thing, Kurama." Naruto turned around completely to face him and smiled wide before bowing. "Thank you, from the bottom of my heart."

Naruto then faded from his mindscape, leaving Kurama to focus on his jutsu. **"... No problem, kid."**

While it seemed to Naruto that a great deal of time had passed in his own mind, only a moment or so passed in the physical world, and Naruto once again met with the terrible view of Hinata bleeding profusely from her wounds where wooden spikes stuck out from her. Naruto could not keep himself from letting a few tears stream down his face when he saw her again. And yet as she stumbled toward him, closing the distance of only a few feet between them, Naruto could see she had a small smile on her face.

"N-N-Naruto... I'm glad I-I was able t-to help you... e-e-even though it m-means I w-will die here" said the girl with the light lavender eyes, doing her best not to mar them with tears of her own as she felt her life slowly fading away.

Naruto stood up and carefully embraced her, whispering into her ear, "Don't worry Hinata, I'm going to fix this, I promise."

"H-how?" she asked, the pain evident in her voice as she spoke.

"You'll see. I always keep my promises, remember?" As he said this, he pulled his head back a small amount, so that sapphire eyes could look into light lavender. For a fraction of a second that seemed like many minutes they gazed into the eyes opposite them as if searching for something, though neither knew what for. And before either knew it their lips met for the first time, and for a few seconds that seemed like hours to them they kissed, oblivious to the horrors around them. For that short amount of time nothing else existed, and they wanted nothing more than to always be by the other, never wanting to leave.

And then before either knew it, everything faded into darkness.


	2. Do You Believe in Time Travel?

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

A/N: I'm glad to see that you guys enjoyed the first chapter, so far no one has had anything negative to say (yet), so I guess that's as good a start as any. But this is my first story so I'm open to any and all constructive criticism or suggestions you might have. I've got a basic idea of what I want to do already but that doesn't mean I can't change or add things here and there. Anyway, here's the next chapter, and I hope you enjoy it!

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**Chapter 2:** _Do You Believe in Time Travel?_

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He opened his eyes and for a split second he wondered where he was. Adjusting his head to look to the side, he found himself inside of his apartment, only it was much messier than he remembered it; there were clothes strewn about everywhere, dust covered much of his surroundings, and empty cartons of milk and packages of ramen in seemingly random places.

Simply put, it looked like the entire apartment was maintained by a 5 year old.

Naruto stood up and found that everything seemed... bigger. Or maybe he was smaller...? Of course he realized it was the latter when he remembered everything that had happened. Or was going to happen. Or... whatever. Naruto checked the bathroom, and one look in the mirror there confirmed that he really was back in the past, that he really had a second chance. Sure, it kind of sucked to be a kid again, but now things could be better. He smiled before he felt his stomach grumble. _Some things never change, I suppose._

He checked his kitchen for whatever food he might be able to make for breakfast, and what he found was somehow both surprising and yet completely obvious. Inside of the cabinets, he found nothing except for instant ramen; in the fridge, there was some milk. Resigning himself to the task of eating what he remembered was the food he almost always ate at this age, Naruto made some shadow clones to clean the place up while he ate his usual meal.

Once he finished, Naruto looked at his calendar to see exactly what day he wound up in. He found that Kurama was ridiculously accurate, as today was the first day of the academy this year. Silently thanking him once more for this opportunity, Naruto left a bit early, hoping that he'd get a chance to talk to Hinata as soon as possible.

Naruto's trip to the academy was a very sobering experience. Gone were the warm looks and respect he had managed to gain on his own through the years, replaced by cold glares and anger from most anyone who took notice of him. Now that he knew exactly what it felt like to be acknowledged by the villagers, to go back to being hated all over again was quite saddening. And yet at the same time, he felt his old resolve once more; Naruto would gain their respect and acknowledgment all over again, and then become Hokage, protect the village, and bring peace to all that he could.

Hinata was sitting by herself in the classroom. On the outside, she seemed a bit nervous to those students who took notice of her. Most just shrugged it off, as they knew her to be a timid and nervous person in general, and it was their first day back, after all. On the inside she felt like a wreck and her mind was racing at insane speeds.

She was fighting in the war. She sacrificed herself for the greater good. She was about to die. She was told by her love that he was going to fix this. She found herself in her first kiss. She... woke up in her bed?

_That was no dream_, she thought, _everything was far too real, not to mention that no one has dreams that seem like they're 5 years long. And this is no dream either, I can tell. And I'm pretty sure I didn't actually die. I must be in the past, I can't think of any other explanation! But how did Naruto do it? I know it was him... or maybe it was the fox? I'll have to talk to him soon..._

At this point Hinata noticed that someone finally sat down beside her. She looked to the person who sat down on her left. He had spiky blond hair, beautiful blue eyes, a great big goofy grin, and whisker marks on his cheeks.

"Hey, Hinata!" Naruto said with some enthusiasm. She suppressed the urge to yelp, and instead settled for a mild blush before she could give a real reply.

"H-Hello, Naruto. Um, did you – "

"Yes, Hinata, I did." Naruto cut her off before she could finish what she wanted to say. "Can we talk about it after class, somewhere we won't be overheard, just in case? Maybe... on top of the Hokage Monument?"

Hinata was once again caught off guard, but slowly nodded in understanding, knowing that there was no way the things they had to talk about could be discussed with anyone listening in.

Waiting for class to start, they took note of the younger forms of their graduating class. There was Kiba, talking animatedly with the students around him, Akamaru barking in happy agreement to everything his master said. Then there was Shino, silently and patiently waiting for class to begin, his face a perfect mask for anyone trying to get a read on his own thoughts. Nearby was Shikamaru, a bored and annoyed look on his face, looking like he wold rather be anywhere else but here as long as he had a view of the clouds. Beside him was Choji, enjoying his favorite potato chips. A few rows away, one would find Sasuke in the middle seat, brooding as usual. On either side were Ino and Sakura, both trying, and spectacularly failing, to get even just a small amount of attention from the Uchiha.

The setting seemed so surreal to both Naruto and Hinata, especially since to them they were just coming off of the biggest battle by far either of them had ever been apart of. On the battlefield they had sometimes remembered their academy days. Things were simple then; they were still children, both by law and by age. Nothing was so deathly important. Their days at the academy seemed like a lifetime ago after all they had suffered since graduating.

And yet here they were again.

_That class was _excruciating_. How did I sit through any of this the first time?_ Naruto found himself thinking after the last class ended. _Maybe it felt worse since this is technically the second time I went through all this. Or is it? I can't even remember what stuff I slept through the first time around._

Naruto was about to get up and leave when he remembered he still had to talk to Hinata. He silently stood up and gestured for her to follow him.

Soon, Naruto and Hinata found themselves standing on the rock face of the 4th Hokage, both children gazing upon he great ninja village before them. It looked safe. Peaceful. Almost completely perfect. Though both knew these qualities may falter somewhat during the events to come, it was still nice to see the village like this, especially after the war. They hoped to keep it that way.

"You know, Hinata... I really hope things go better this time around."

"M-Me too, Naruto. But, d-do you think you could explain exactly what happened? It is very confusing after all," Hinata said quietly, doing her best not to stutter.

"Yeah, I can see how it'd be confusing for anyone in your position. As you know, we were fighting against Madara and the Ten-Tails. Your family and I were too tired to defend ourselves and the next attack was focused on me and you... you took the attack for me," Naruto retold the events from his perspective, unable to hold back a few tears. "I saw you standing in front of me, dying from an attack meant for me, and I couldn't take it. Another person that I wanted to protect was about to die right before my eyes, but this time it felt different.

"You had always been a good person to me, Hinata, right from the start. You never let the way others saw me affect the way you would see me. To a lot of people I was, and still am, the 'demon child.' But whether you knew my secret or not, it never got in your way. To you, I was always just 'Naruto.'

"I remembered when you fought against Neji during the Chuunin Exams; you put your entire being into that fight. You didn't care that no one thought you would win, you brushed their opinions aside to try and prove them wrong. I admire actions like that, because I know what it's like when it seems as if no one believes in you but yourself. And then, before I had to fight Neji myself, I was having a lot of doubt. But you believed in me, you pushed me forward and gave me the courage to surpass not only the limits other people thought I had, but the limits _I_ thought I had. Without you that day, I don't think my fight with Neji, or even Gaara, would have gone the way they did.

"And of course, years later there was the fight with Pain. I knew I had to fight him alone, no one else stood a chance against him. But when he pinned me to the ground with his chakra rods, who else but you would come to save me? At a time when it all seemed hopeless, you were there. Even though you knew it might have been for nothing, you stood before me in an an effort to fix things. And then, when I thought he had killed you... I lost control... but I don't want to talk about that. After you told me you loved me, I kind of went into shock, and I didn't know what to make of it. Even after the fight was over I couldn't quite wrap my head around it.

"But then one thing led to another and we were thrust into war. I don't know about you, but for me things just kept happening so quickly that I couldn't really think about my feelings. The Kage Summit, my training, and the war all came at me so fast I didn't have time to think about anything else. And then before I knew it you were dying right in front of me and there was nothing I could do.

"I went into despair inside of my own mind. Seeing you on the verge of death made me realize my feelings for you, but it was too late. You, the woman whose love I was finally able to comprehend and wanted to return, was going to die right in front of me before I could even truly begin to express my own feelings. You dying was too much for me to bear and I lost all of my resolve. But before I could give up completely, Kurama – that's the Nine-tails' true name – gave me a way to fix things. He told me that he could take us back in time, though he can only do it once in our lifetime. He told me that he could go back as far as 10 years, and that we, along with anyone I was in physical contact with would retain our memories. When he told me, I decided that I could do more – that _we_ could do more. We can save a lot of people by coming back this far. We can prepare more, train more for the things that are to come. We'll have time for all of that... and time for each other, too."

Sometime during Naruto's explanation he and Hinata sat down together and wrapped their arms around the other, with Hinata leaning her head on his shoulder. She was crying slightly, a bit from the sadness she felt at parts of the story but more from the happiness she felt at finally being seen by him – _really_ seen by him. It was all she had wanted for so long, and the feeling of him in her arms, and her in his, was bliss. This one moment was perfect; everything was right, and nothing bad could happen to them. _Is this what true love feels like?_ both thought simultaneously.

For minutes that felt like hours they sat there in the arms of the other, thinking about each other and everything that had happened, and the things that were to come. Soon Hinata began speaking.

"I think we should tell some people about everything. The Hokage for sure but I don't know who else, if anybody."

Naruto thought for a moment. "I agree. The old man should definitely know. As for who else, I think it should be Pervy Sa – er, Jiraiya-sensei and Kakashi-sensei."

Hinata giggled at the nickname Naruto almost referred to in reference of one of Jiraiya's more... _eccentric_ qualities. "Naruto, I understand that they're both your sensei, but what other reasons do you have for wanting them in on this? I don't plan on telling Kurenai-sensei but I'm also certain that she doesn't have as big of a role to play in all of this as your sensei do."

"Well, one of the biggest reasons among many for telling Pervy Sage is because he holds the key to the seal that contains Kurama. Kurama and I are still partners whether he's locked up or not, but we can't reach our full potential unless I let him out of the prison that separates us. As for Kakashi-sensei... well, you remember the 'false' Madara from the battle, right?" Hinata nodded silently at this. "That guy was actually someone Kakashi-sensei knew – he was the person Kakashi-sensei got his Sharingan from."

Hinata gasped at this revelation. "What? H-How is that possible?"

Naruto sighed. "I don't really know all of the details. I just know that they were really close before his supposed death a long time ago, and Kakashi's ability with his Sharingan was the key to us having the opportunity to defeat him."

She thought about these things for a minute or so before replying. "I think I agree with you. But we have to tell the Hokage first, before the others."

"Sounds good to me. Besides, Pervy Sage is probably hundreds of miles away right now and I doubt Kakashi-sensei would give me the time of day if I were to talk to him at this point. So what do you say we go and talk to the old man right now? Better sooner than later, right?"

Hinata nodded once more. "You're right, but how are we going to talk to him now? He is the Hokage after all, I'm sure he's very busy."

Naruto smiled from ear to ear before answering. "You leave that to me, it's easier than you think."

Hiruzen was sitting at his desk inside of his office at the Hokage Residence, taking a small reprieve from the seemingly endless amount of paperwork his job required of him. As he continued smoking his pipe, he turned his gaze to the large stack of papers on his desk that would soon require his full attention. His gaze turned into a glare, and he silently wished his look would simply set the overlarge stack ablaze. But sadly it was not to be. Truly, he wished he had something to distract him from the incessant monotony that was paperwork.

Suddenly, his office doors burst open and who should he see but the perfect distraction: Naruto Uzumaki, along with... the Hyuuga heiress?

Upon seeing the man who was like a grandfather to him, Naruto was bombarded with his memories of the old man. To Naruto it had been years since the man's death and he was only too happy to see him alive and kicking once more.

"Hey old man! You have no idea how happy I am to see you!" Naruto yelled loudly in joy of seeing him again.

"What happened, Naruto? It was only a few days ago that we had ramen together at Ichiraku's" Hiruzen said with a gentle smile and a chuckle.

Naruto's mood went serious and decided he should not delay anymore than he already had. "A lot of things happened, actually. Do you think you could seal the room and ask the ANBU to leave?"

Hiruzen's mind began to race. _Is this one of Naruto's pranks? I doubt he could get Hinata in on one of them, so why is she here? Furthermore I'm surprised he even noticed the ANBU in the room; they are well hidden after all. It honestly doesn't seem like one of his pranks, but what could be so important that he doesn't want my ANBU to hear? I suppose for now I should jut see where they're headed with this._

"Very well, Naruto. Both of you, please take a seat." As they sat down, Hiruzen motioned for his ANBU to leave, and they silently obeyed. Once they were gone, he sealed the room for their privacy. "Now, would the two of you mind telling me what's so important?"

Both children stared right at him while Naruto took on a sly smile. "Old man, do you believe in time travel?"


	3. This Should be Good

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

A/N: Glad to see people enjoyed chapter 2. For those of you who were curious/concerned/whatever, Naruto will _**NOT**_ be getting a harem. I have my reasons for making it like this, but based on what a few people said in reviews this is the preferred scenario anyway. Read on, and I hope you enjoy chapter 3. And if you can find a minute or two to write a review I'd appreciate it, if only so I know people are enjoying it enough to justify continuing, and as I said before constructive criticism or suggestions are welcome.

About honorifics (-sama, -san, -kun, etc.) and names of people/attacks: originally I was going to have the characters refer to each other and their attacks as they do in English adaptations of Naruto, which means no honorifics would be used (save for -sensei, which if I remember correctly was used in English versions), nicknames would get changed (Jiji = Old Man, Baachan = Granny, etc), and attacks would use their English names. However starting with this chapter I will revert to the original Japanese naming conventions for most, if not all, names/nicknames (family name first, honorifics included) and attacks since that's probably what most people prefer.

And just in case, here's the key for determining how speech/thought is meant to be interpreted:

"Normal people speech"

"**Tailed beast/powerful entity speech"**

_Normal people thinking to themselves_

_**Tailed beast/powerful entity thinking to themselves**_

"_Normal people communicating mentally"_

"_**Tailed beast/powerful entity communicating mentally"**_

**Chapter 3:** _This Should be Good_

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At the mention of time travel, Hiruzen's face remained calm while his mind, once again, was swirling. He of course thought that something as crazy as that was impossible. Then again, with the young man before him he felt like he should not be surprised by anything. Could this be a prank? Perhaps, but one look in the young man's eyes said differently; in those eyes he could see many things that certainly should not be there, not yet. Pain. Sorrow. Great loss, along with a great many battles, some within him and some with many a strong foe.

Hiruzen let out a great sigh before replying. "Up until now I have considered a thing such as time travel impossible. And yet, I feel you are about to surprise me. Care to explain further? And how exactly does Hinata-chan here factor into this?"

Naruto smiled widely, glad to see that the old man was being open with him on this. "She factors into this because we're both from about 5 years in the future."

"Really now?" Both children nodded in confirmation, and Hiruzen was doing his best to keep a neutral expression. "Before you go any further, can you prove to me that you're telling the truth? Perhaps with a demonstration of your abilities?"

"Of course. But I think we'd be better off in a place that's not as cramped as your office, Jiji. Probably somewhere we won't be seen."

Hinata began to speak for the first time in the conversation. "I-I agree. Some of N-Naruto-kun's abilities are quite... d-destructive."

"Hmm... I know the perfect place. Naruto-kun, Hinata-chan, follow me to training ground 44. The only person who ever goes there outside of during the Chuunin Exams is Mitarashi Anko, and she won't be back from her current mission for at least another week."

Naruto could not stop himself from giggling. "Man, that crazy snake lady would do all her training in the Forest of Death."

Hinata also giggled before speaking. "I-It brings back a lot of m-memories from when we took the e-exams together, d-don't you think?"

The three of them were on their way out of the room as Naruto continued the conversation. "Yeah, there were a few good times there." Naruto paused before stealing a glance at Hiruzen and then looking to the ground. "But also more bad times than I care to admit."

Hinata easily caught onto what Naruto was thinking about and felt some sadness herself. She then grasped Naruto's hand in her own and they both blushed while they continued their walk to the Forest of Death. "Yes, I know what you mean," she said a bit more quietly than her normal speaking voice.

None of these words or actions escaped Hiruzen's notice, though he knew it would be best to wait before trying to pry anything out of them.

* * *

When they were a decent distance inside of the Forest of Death, they stopped and Hiruzen turned to speak. "Well, here we are. Which one of you wants to go first?"

"Um, H-Hokage-sama, I'm afraid it w-would be pointless to demonstrate m-my abilities right now. I-I have neither the reserves, n-nor the physical ability in this b-body to do what I could in the f-future."

"Hmm, I understand, Hinata-chan. Naruto-kun?"

"Jiji, I'm about to blow your mind! First, check this out!" Naruto's first order of business was to make 50 kage bunshin. Needless to say, Hiruzen was quite surprised by the number. Hinata looked a bit dazed, though for a different reason than the Hokage, as she was blushing and had a small nosebleed; thankfully, neither male noticed.

"Impressive, Naruto-kun. That's a very high number of kage bunshin, and you don't look tired at all." Naruto smirked at his reaction, making Hiruzen quite curious as to the meaning behind it.

"That's nothing. If I wanted to, I could probably make about 1000 of them right now before getting tired, but there's a lot more I can do so I'll save that chakra for now." After Naruto said his, all 50 of his kage bunshin created their own Rasengan and proceeded to destroy something nearby; boulders were reduced to rubble, large trees were taken apart above the stump, and there were many smoke clouds that revealed a number of small craters in the ground once they cleared.

"I see you mastered one of the 4th's signature jutsus, also very impressive, Naruto-kun. And I suppose I'll take your word for it that you can make 1000 kage bunshin, truly no small feat in itself."

"Oh, I didn't just master that particular jutsu of my father's. I completed it." Both Hiruzen's and Hinata's eyes went wide at this proclamation; Hinata because she never found out who Naruto's father was, and Hiruzen because not only did Naruto reveal that he was aware of his heritage, but that he was able to do what Minato could not and finish the Rasengan.

"I-I see..." Hiruzen muttered just loudly enough for those present to hear. "Naruto, I'm sorry I never told you who your parents were, but you must know that I did it to protect you. How did you find out?"

"It's okay, I understand why you didn't. As for how I know... well, that can wait until I tell you in our story about the future. Now, allow me to harness the energy to show you the completed Rasengan."

Hiruzen watched as Naruto sat down and took what appeared to be a meditative state. _Did he say "harness?" That makes it sound like he's doing more than just molding his own chakra. What does that...?_ Hiruzen let out a small gasp. _He isn't moving! Not at all! Surely he didn't become..._

Hiruzen's question was answered for him as red marks appeared around Naruto's eyes, and when his eyes were opened they became yellow and toad-like. He was rendered speechless as he watched Naruto create 2 more kage bunshin and form what looked to be a giant shuriken make of wind chakra with a Rasengan in the middle of the whole thing. _That thing is enormous! If he lets that jutsu go off here none of us will survive! And there's no way a move like that can just be thrown. I have to stop him before –" _

"Fuuton: Rasenshuriken!" Naruto actually did throw it like a shuriken, and not only did it fly forward at a ridiculously high speed, it also cut through anything in its way without slowing down, and then a safe distance away it expanded, and exploded into an extremely large vortex of wind. As it dissipated, if left behind a massive crater in the distance and a partially destroyed landscape between the crater and the one responsible for it.

Naruto was left panting and significantly drained after that. Even though he was in Sage Mode, and he already had more chakra than almost every other "normal" person in the elemental nations, the fact remains that he does not have as much of his own chakra to go with the natural energy he gathered as he did in the future where he could make 2 or 3 Rasenshuriken in Sage Mode, depending on the circumstances.

Hiruzen was in a state of temporary shock. Not only had he just witnessed what he believed to be the single most destructive jutsu ever performed by a human, he witnessed it done by a child not even out of the ninja academy! And said child had even become a sage! _To do these things at 11 years old... Hell, to do these things at 16 years old... There is no doubt in my mind. They truly did come from the future._

"Well Naruto, after seeing all of that I can't possibly say I don't believe what you've told me," Hiruzen said in an awed tone. "You truly must have come from the future if you're able to do _that_. And to think you're even a sage... to be quite honest I find it hard to believe you amassed these abilities in just 5 years, by the looks of things you look like you could have been on Jiraiya's level, and that's at the least!"

By this point Naruto's panting had calmed down. "Speaking of Ero-sennin, where the hell is he? Kakashi-sensei, too. I've got to tell them this stuff as well. Not to mention I need to sign the toad summoning contract and get the key to unlock the seal."

Hiruzen laughed heartily at Naruto's nickname for his old student before his face paled at Naruto's casual mention of unlocking the seal that just so happened to hold back what was possibly the greatest threat the leaf village had ever encountered; the only possible threat to trump it _might have been_ Madara Uchiha himself.

"Naruto-kun..." Hiruzen said in a grandfatherly tone as he approached Naruto and rested his hand on his shoulder. "_Have you lost your damn mind!?_ Do you _want_ the Kyuubi to kill us all!?"

"**_Ha, this should be good. Have fun explaining this one!"_** Kurama continued laughing inside of Naruto's head, much to his host's minor frustration. Naruto's face than took on a somewhat annoyed look, divided evenly between being directed at both Kurama and Hiruzen.

"Look, Jiji. I need to to drop whatever thoughts you have about Kurama. For almost everything he did against the village, he was under the control of a powerful genjutsu at the time, either by Madara Uchiha during his fight against the 1st Hokage, or by another guy with the Sharingan who was powerful enough to pretend to be Madara during the time of my birth. And for the short time after my birth where he wasn't being controlled, sure, he was angry. But you'd be angry too if, for decades on end, you spent all of your time either kept either under a genjutsu so powerful you had no control over yourself, or you were sealed inside of someone. Who wouldn't be upset!?" Naruto paused to get a good look at Hiruzen's face; it was neutral, but stern, betraying not an ounce of the surprise he was feeling at Naruto's words. "But despite all of that... despite how we hated each other... despite how we hated our own positions in life, we got over it. We conquered our hate, and we've come to terms with each other. I am no longer his jailer, and he is no longer my prisoner – "

"_**Uh, technically that's exactly what we are until we get that key – "**_

"_Not helping!"_ Naruto thought, then paused for a moment trying to remember exactly where he was in his speech before continuing. "We're partners now; we work together as comrades and we trust each other. Look, I know this is a lot to take in, and it goes against a lot of things we were taught to believe about him, but I need you to believe me on this."

Hiruzen sighed upon hearing Naruto's speech, for it truly was a lot to take in. "I assume that when you said 'Kurama' you were referring to the Kyuubi, correct?" Hiruzen asked. Naruto nodded in response. "I want to believe you Naruto-kun, I really do. But I don't know if I can, at least not yet, not before I hear the full story from you."

"_**Eh, it could have been worse,"**_ Kurama thought as he mentally shrugged.

"That's fine, Jiji. But before I tell you everything, I want Ero-sennin and Kakashi-sensei to be there when I do. They need to hear these things too, and I ask you to trust my judgment on this. No one else will know... except Tsunade-baachan, I guess, since she'll probably become the 5th Hokage again."

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow at hearing Naruto refer to Tsunade as "baachan" but decided not to question it, nor would he question the circumstances of how she came to take the position of Hokage. He knew Naruto would talk about all of this in due time, and figured it was best to hear the whole story at once rather than getting jumbled up bits and pieces.

"I understand, Naruto-kun. I will recall Jiraiya to the village and have Kakashi on standby in the meantime. They should be available within 2 weeks, and I will let you know, and through you Hinata-chan will know as well, when we will meet," Hiruzen told them and motioned for both children to follow him out of the forest.

"Um... th-thank you for listening to Naruto-kun and believing in h-him... in both of us," Hinata said with a small smile.

"Yeah Jiji, it means a lot that you believe us!" Naruto said with a wide grin.

"Think nothing of it, kids. After what I saw you do, I don't see how I couldn't believe you; Naruto-kun, your skills are far beyond anything I could have imagined, especially given that I know you're not only weakened from what you could be because of that young body, but also because you had shown nothing of what you might be capable of with the power of the Kyuubi" Hiruzen sighed as he kept leading them out. "Unfortunately I must now be getting back to something I've put off since I left with you, and once we exit the forest I must return as quickly as possible, I'm sure the two of you can handle getting back on your own from there."

"Hey Jiji, what do you have to do that's so important anyway? You're the Hokage! Can't you get people do do at least some of these things for you?" Naruto asked, somewhat curious about what a Hokage really does in day-to-day life since he never really thought about that aspect of the job.

"Paperwork, Naruto-kun. Lots of it. And unfortunately only I can take care of it," Hruzen replied with obvious disdain in his voice.

"Why can't you just use kage bunshin to do it for you? I mean, _technically_ it would still be you doing the work."

Hiruzen froze on the spot at this suggestion. _That's so... so simple, and yet brilliant! How did I never think of this!?_ "You know, Naruto-kun, that's not a bad idea at all. I think I'll implement that idea as soon as I get back to the office. I can't believe I never saw this before, but thanks to you, now I'll have more free time as Hokage than ever!" Hiruzen excitedly responded to Naruto's simple, yet exquisite solution.

Naruto and Hinata both chuckled at Hiruzen's realization. "I'm glad you liked my idea, but you should spend as much of that free time as you can training. Trust me when I say you're going to need it," Naruto said.

"Don't worry Naruto-kun, if the future that you're going to tell me about is anywhere near as dangerous as I think it's going to be, then rest assured that I will not neglect my own training. Besides, I'd hate to be only the 2nd most powerful ninja in Konoha, especially if it's next to an academy student at that," Hiruzen chuckled while ruffling Naruto's hair.

"Hey, c'mon, stop that!" Naruto yelled, trying to get Hiruzen's hand away from his head. "And don't you think for a second that you'll be the only one busting their ass to get stronger! Hinata-chan and I are gonna train too, and before you know it we'll be stronger than you ever thought possible!"

Hinata blushed with excitement over the thought of spending time with and training with Naruto. "Na-Naruto-kun, I'm really looking forward to t-training with you, and I know th-that together we can both get s-stronger."

Hiruzen couldn't help but smile at their resolve. "Truly, the Will of Fire burns brightly within you both, and I sincerely look forward to the day when not only the 2 of you, but the rest of your generation surpasses the last." _Though truth be told, Naruto-kun's probably already done that. His skills may be rough around the edges, but he's certainly nearly Kage level right now. With more time for his body to develop and some training, he'll easily surpass all other Hokages soon enough._

"We'll do our b-best, Hokage-sama," Hinata meekly replied.

Moments after that, they reached the edge of the forest and Hiruzen turned to speak to them once more before leaving. "Okay kids, I've got to get back now. Remember, I'll let Naruto-kun know the time and day of the meeting with Jiraiya and Kakashi within the next few days, and Naruto-kun will tell you, Hinata-chan." Both children nodded in response. "Train hard and take care of each other. And while you already know to tell no one of your nature as time travelers, also be sure to not demonstrate your abilities wantonly. People getting suspicious or asking too many questions will not end well for anyone. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," both replied simultaneously.

"Good. I'll see you both soon." And with that, Hiruzen disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"So... what now, N-Naruto-kun?"

"I think we should talk about how we want to train for the next year before we graduate. I have a few ideas about what I want to do, what about you?"

"More than anything else, I want to i-improve my chakra reserves, my speed, a-and my stamina."

Naruto noticed that Hinata's stuttering habit was slowly getting better, though he refrained from commenting on it, not wanting here to have a relapse of some sort. "That sounds like a good start. Once Ero-sennin gets back, I'll ask him about some seals I heard about a while back that should make improvement in those areas come about a lot faster."

Hinata perked up at this. "Really? What kind of seals are they?"

"Gravity seals. They work kind of like the weights that Bushy Brows uses but I don't know all of the details. But they will definitely help us both out in the areas you mentioned. And once we get your reserves up, I'll teach you how to use Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. Not only will they help you train since you get all of their mental experience once they're dispelled, but we can send them to the academy for us on all of the days we don't have sparring! That way we won't have to waste as much time there and can focus more on real training!" Naruto said, hoping his enthusiasm would catch on, even if it were just a small amount.

"Hmm... It sounds like a g-great idea, but it will still feel l-like we're constantly cutting class..." Hinata replied, thinking she would feel rather guilty about such an act.

Naruto caught on to her feelings, hoping to convince her. "Come on, Hinata! Why feel guilty about it? Our kage bunshin would still be learning the material for us, and I use the term 'learning' lightly by the way since we've already been through the academy before. I'm just saying we can do both once you get kage bunshin down. Right now, training is more important, and I know you know that; anything important we can take away from those classes, we already have, and the only reason we're even sending the clones is because we have to 'attend' class regardless of how good we get."

Hinata sighed in defeat, though Naruto could tell she was happy about the implications. "Well, I guess I can't really argue with any of that. More time spent training is more time spent with you, too, so you've got no complaints from me," Hinata said with reddened cheeks as she reached for Naruto's hand. Naruto's smile was threefold: he was happy to hold her hand, he was happy that they would be training together, and he was happy that she didn't stutter once when she said all of that. He gladly took the offered hand and they locked their fingers together before they finally began their walk back to the village.

After a few minutes of just happily walking together, Naruto broke the silence. "You know, I could get used to this," Naruto said pleasantly.

Hinata arched an eyebrow, having a good idea of what he was thinking. But she wanted him to say it out loud to her. "Used to what exactly?" she asked, with a slight but knowing smile on her face.

"Oh, you know. Walking hand-in-hand with the best girl in the world, a girl who's beautiful, kind, strong, and smart. But it's not just my hand she's grabbed onto. She also has a firm grasp on my heart." At this, they turned to face each other, their lips meeting for the first time in what felt like years. It was short, but sweet. They both embraced, resting their heads on the shoulder of the other, before Naruto continued with a whisper in her ear, "And I wouldn't have my life any other way."

Neither one of them knew how long they simply stood there, enjoying the feel of being in the arms of the other. However young they may have looked to those on the outside, the love they felt for each other was beyond their years. It was neither fleeting nor weak, but rather strong and lasting. Though there were no others to witness their simple display, they were glad to be alone. Though no words were said, there was no real need for them.

They knew their love would transcend all.

Truly, that would be something they would need to count on.


	4. There Seems to be A Pattern Here

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

A/N: Sorry for the long wait on this one, life happens. I also did a lot of planning for future events in the story. Plus for some reason I had a hard time writing this chapter, but I digress... Enjoy the chapter, don't forget to review or do whatever you crazy people wanna do.

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**Chapter 4:** _There Seems to be A Pattern Here_

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Twelve days had passed since Naruto and Hinata had met with Hiruzen in the Forest of Death, and the meeting for them to explain things in detail to Hiruzen, Jiraiya, and Kakashi was today. Since Naruto did not want Hinata to feel left out, he had refrained from using his kage bunshin to train during class without her, and had settled for training with her after their lessons and on the weekends. However, while both were attending class, the material was the last thing on either of their minds when they were at the academy.

Naruto had many things on his mind during his classes. What exactly did he want to train in before he graduated? There were of course the basics like his strength and speed, but he had no reason to limit himself to that thanks to training with kage bunshin. He wanted to learn more wind-based ninjutsu, and perhaps some more in one or two other elements as well, though he was not sure which. There was also the possibility of weapons training, though he had no idea what kind he would want to use. And given that he was not only the son of two Seal Masters, but an apprentice to one as well, he figured that fūinjutsu could be a good thing to learn.

_Hmm... For strength and speed, I can't use clones to improve them_, Naruto mused. _But everything else they're great for, and I can get Ero-sennin and Kakashi-sensei to help with them too, besides weapon training. Still, once I find a weapon I want I can probably get some scrolls from the library to show me forms and stuff._

Naruto was also thinking about his friends, and what he was going to do in order to gain their friendship again, specifically Sasuke. He wanted to make sure that Sasuke did not go through the events that led him joining Orochimaru; he would make sure that Sasuke would not receive the curse seal, and he would not allow Itachi to drive him into hatred. Somehow, he had to let Itachi know that he could rely on others besides himself to help Sasuke.

And then he started thinking of Team Seven as a whole. Originally, it had been himself, Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi. He remembered the times spent with them, and for a long time he thought he would never trade those times for anything; though their time together as a genin team was short, Sakura and Sasuke had managed to become his best friends. But now he found himself wanting to be on a team with Hinata, for obvious reasons.

_I _really_ want to be on Hinata-chan's team, but I don't know how that could change the greater scheme things. Sure, if she and Sakura traded places, then Sakura could probably learn a lot about genjutsu from Kurenai-sensei instead of never developing her natural abilities for it like she did in the old timeline, but I don't know if that's enough to convince anyone else... I should probably wait until tomorrow when everyone hears about the future to think about this._

Hinata was having similar thoughts; she was unsure of what kind of training she wanted to do beyond what she mentioned to Naruto almost two weeks ago. She also desperately wanted to be teamed up with him, but was fearful of whatever repercussions might arise from it. Hinata thought that while it may seem minor enough in the long run, there would be no way to truly know without actually going through with it first. However, like Naruto, she concluded that any such arrangements were best brought up later.

As they continued their thoughts, Naruto and Hinata were oblivious to the thoughts of those around them in the classroom. The other shinobi in training were rather confused about their behavior ever since the new year started.

Naruto was rather subdued compared to what they were used to. He may have still been loud most of the time, and he would pull the occasional prank or two, but was nothing compared to what he was like before. He would sometimes be seen donning contemplative looks during class, not paying attention to the sensei; while they were all used to him not paying attention, it was usually with a bored look that seemed to beg for death rather than suffer through another minute of the torture the sensei called "lectures." And then his pranks were nothing compared to what they remembered. They still happened often enough, but many felt like the resident prankster just did not put forth the effort he used to, as if he were just going through the motions.

Hinata on the other hand seemed the same to many people in most ways, save for in the eyes of few of her classmates. She was still the quiet, timid girl everyone had always assumed she was. However, there were some who noticed she had the same contemplative look that often adorned Naruto's face, and they all knew the look had nothing to do with the academy. They could only fruitlessly guess at what her thoughts might be.

However, one of the occurrences that stuck out to all was that the two always sat together during classes and breaks. None could seem to fathom the possibility that Naruto had not only noticed, but perhaps even returned Hinata's feelings for him. Of course, the Hyūga's crush was known to most everyone in their class at the academy despite the fact that she never told anyone, due to her constant blushing and stuttering around him. And yet, even that had changed; in Naruto's presence, Hinata no longer stuttered, and did not blush very much, save for infrequent pink tinges.

The common opinion among the classmates of Naruto and Hinata was that _something_ was obviously going on between them; just what was happening was a mystery to them all, and some were determined to find out.

Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen sat at his desk reading the latest Icha Icha novel by his old student, Jiraiya. Adorned on his face was a light blush, a perverted smile, and the beginnings of a nosebleed. If one were to listen closely outside of the office, one might hear erratic bursts of stifled giggles. As much as Hiruzen was enjoying the fine literature in his hands, however, there was a knock on the door. He sighed, knowing who was most likely on the other side. Not wanting to deal with any teasing he might have to endure, he put the book away and called for the person outside to enter.

Inside walked the author of the very book he was just reading. Jiraiya had an annoyed look on his face, most likely somewhat upset at being told to return to Konoha for "urgent news" and having to give up some of his precious research time.

"Well, here I am sensei. Would you mind telling me what's so important that you couldn't risk sending the information directly? You know how vital both my spy network and my research are," said the toad sannin.

"Hello, Jiraiya. It's nice to see you as well," Hiruzen joked. "Is it really so bad being back in Konoha?"

Jiraiya sighed and scratched his head. "Aw, come on, sensei. You know how much I still love Konoha, which is why I spend so much time outside of it. Someone has to be the guy that spies on all of our outside threats to keep it safe."

"Yes, yes, Jiraiya, I understand, but that's why I recalled you for the time being. I have someone with a lot of sensitive information that I cannot allow to pass to anyone unless there is absolutely no threat of that information being intercepted."

At this there was another knock on the door, and Hiruzen once more beckoned for them to enter. The door opened and inside walked none other than Kakashi Hatake, nose buried in the latest Icha Icha novel.

"Good evening, Hokage-sama... Jiraiya-sama? To what do I owe the pleasure of this meeting?" Kakashi lazily drawled out.

"That's what I'd like to know," Jiraiya grunted. "Apparently someone has some 'important information' to share with us, but Sarutobi-sensei has yet to share who that someone is."

"Patience, Jiraiya," Hiruzen chuckled. "It should not be long before the last of those involved arrive, and then we shall have our information."

"'We shall have our information?'" Jiraiya questioned. "Are you saying you don't even know what it is yet?" Jiraiya asked with a hint of an incredulous tone.

"Correct," was Hiruzen's simple reply.

One of Jiraiya's eyes twitched in annoyance, while simultaneously Kakashi's lone visible eye curved upwards in what could only be described as an "eye-smile."

"Well," Kakashi started, still paying some attention to his book, "I'm sure we'll find out sooner or – "

It was at this moment that the door slammed open, revealing a couple of academy students. The first was a boy with bright blond hair, blue eyes, whisker-marked cheeks, and a hideous orange jumpsuit. The second was a girl about the same age, with short indigo-colored hair, the trademark white eyes of the Hyūga, a baggy beige jacket, and indigo-colored pants, who was beside and slightly behind the first figure.

"Hey guys!" Naruto yelled exuberantly.

"Um, hello everyone," Hinata said quietly.

Jiraiya and Kakashi both turned to look at the children, then at Hiruzen, then back at the children once again with slightly wide eyes.

"Hmm, this should be interesting," Kakashi said as he put away his book, wondering what the two kids in front of them had to do with anything. _I know Naruto has a penchant for pranks, but I doubt he __could get the Hyūga heiress involved in one, much less Hokage-sama._

Jiraiya took on an exasperated expression, wondering what the two kids that entered had to do with anything. He of course recognized them both, to an extent. He knew Hinata was a main branch Hyūga based on her eyes and the lack of the caged bird seal and was most likely the heiress given the age she looks to be. On the other hand he knew quite a bit more about Naruto; he was the jinchūriki of the Kyūbi, the village pariah, and the son of his favorite student, Minato Namikaze. Jiraiya knew that someday he would let the kid become his apprentice, but he was sure that time had yet to come.

"Who the hell are these brats and what do they have to do with us?" Jiraiya asked with more than a hint of annoyance.

"Can it, Ero-sennin, I know you at least know who I am," Naruto replied with a bit of his own annoyance at Jiraiya's feigned ignorance, though inside he was very happy to see his formerly deceased sensei.

"Shut up, brat! And don't call me that, for I am the gallant Jiraiya, the great Toad Sage, and the most renowned ladies' man in all of the elemental nations! So show me the proper respect, got it!?" Jiraiya yelled while performing his typical introductory dance.

"I call it like I see it, Ero-sennin. And the way I see it, you're a pervert," Naruto answered with a smirk.

"You don't know who you're dealing with, kid. I'll have you know that I'm no pervert! I'm a – "

"A super pervert, yeah yeah, we get it."

Jiraiya's mouth was left hanging open upon being interrupted before regaining his composure and crossing is arms across his chest with a mocked look of defeat. Those on the sidelines of the exchange had observed it with varying amounts of amusement in their reactions; Hiruzen was laughing heartily, Hinata was giggling with a small smile on her face, and Kakashi merely gave them an eye-smile.

After a few moments Hiruzen was the first to speak up again. "Well, now that _that's_ over with, why don't you explain to Jiraiya and Kakashi what's going on, Naruto-kun, Hinata-chan?"

"Okay, jiji. I'll start with the most important thing: Hinata-chan and I both came from five years in the future," Naruto said in a simple tone, as if he were describing the day's weather.

This statement unsurprisingly raised a few eyebrows. Kakashi remained silent, but Jiraiya did not. "Uh huh, sure kid," Jiraiya said in a disbelieving manner. "Sarutobi-sensei, mind telling us what's really going on?"

"I assure you, Naruto speaks the truth. I have seen first hand his abilities which he demonstrated to me in the Forest of Death. And if I may say so, it was very impressive," Hiruzen replied.

"Would you mind telling us what was so impressive, Hokage-sama? And if possible I'd like to see some of his abilities for myself," Kakashi said, his face betraying neither his own disbelief nor his slight curiosity.

"Very well, Kakashi, though I think I'll forgo telling you about his abilities, and instead allow Naruto-kun to show you himself. If you could all accompany me to the Forest of Death, I'm sure Naruto-kun wouldn't mind giving a repeat demonstration," Hiruzen answered, and motioned for them to follow him.

As they ventured deep into the forest, they came upon the site of Naruto's last demonstration.

"Ah, in case you two are curious, what you see here are the results of when Naruto-kun had shown me his abilities previously," Hiruzen said as they came upon the destruction that arose almost two weeks ago.

Jiraiya and Kakashi were suitably impressed with the large scale damage, though they refused to believe it was Naruto's doing until they saw it for themselves.

"Alright, brat, let's see what you can do," Jiraiya said.

At this Naruto went through the same abilities with Jiraiya and Kakashi that he did with Hiruzen beforehand. They were impressed with fifty shadow clones, though that does nothing but show off the size of one's chakra reserves; however they found it hard to believe he could make one thousand of them as he claimed. They were both taken aback when Naruto pelted the ground with a large number of Rasengan, and found themselves wondering what else he had yet to show them since the damage so far had yet to match what they had seen before.

Jiraiya felt like he was going to have a heart attack when he saw Naruto close his eyes, then stood completely still and gained an orange pigmentation around his eyes. When he opened them they were yellow and reminiscent of the toads of Mount Myōboku, and his chakra levels were extremely high.

"Well, I have to say Naruto, that's some impressive chakra for pretty much anyone to have, but just what is it?" Kakashi asked.

"T-that would be Sage Mode, Kakashi," Jiraiya said. "It can only be taught by the toads of Mount Myōboku, and I know for a fact that they haven't taught Sage Mode to anyone but me. Personally, I think that pretty much proves his claim."

"But Ero-sennin, we still haven't gotten to the best part."

"And what would that be, Naruto?"

"I completed my father's jutsu."

Both Jiraiya and Kakashi failed to contain their surprise and awe at that statement. However the surprise at Naruto knowing his lineage settled rather quickly and was overcome by eagerness to see the completed form of the Rasengan.

"Show us," Kakashi said after pulling up his headband, revealing the Sharingan hidden beneath it.

"Yeah, this I gotta see," Jiraiya responded.

Naruto summoned two more clones and formed the jutsu in his hand, accompanied by the loud screeching noise and swirling winds usually observed when the jutsu is used.

"Fūton: Rasenshuriken!" Naruto yelled. Then, to the surprise of Kakashi and Jiraiya, Naruto actually threw it at an extremely high speed, causing destruction similar to that happened the last time he used the jutsu. After the dust settled, it took a few moments for Kakashi and Jiraiya come to terms with what they had just seen.

"Holy shit," Jiraiya muttered. "Minato would be proud."

"Even with the Sharingan active I couldn't count the number of times that jutsu would even hit someone once it connected," Kakashi said in an amazed tone.

"O-okay," Naruto said tiredly. "Are you guys satisfied now?"

"Yes," they replied at the same time.

"Though..." Kakashi said with a pause, "I'm also interested in what Hinata can do since you say you're both from the future."

"S-sorry, Kakashi-sensei, but as I told Hokage-sama when we first got here, I currently l-lack the chakra to perform more than the basic Hyūga abilities, though I-I've been training to improve that ever since. Besides, my full capabilities a-are nothing compared to those of Naruto-kun," Hinata said with a blush at the end.

"Don't be so modest, Hinata-chan!" Naruto said. "You saved my life twice already, you're a strong person!"

This was news to the three older men in the meeting, all were very curious as to how those events went, and Jiraiya was scribbling down information on a notepad, likely to be used in some way for one of his future novels. Unfortunately for Naruto he missed this little action of Jiraiya's. Hinata's reaction to Naruto's proclamation was to blush even more and mutter her thanks.

"Well, I'm sure we'll hear all about that and more later," Hiruzen said. "For now, we should head back to my office so the two of you can tell us more in private."

With that, they returned to the Hokage's office.

Upon their return to Hiruzen's office, they made sure the room was secure and Naruto, with a few contributions from Hinata, started their story of how all of this came to be. It began with their graduation and the incident with Mizuki, and continued until Naruto finished telling them about the mission to the Land of Waves.

"Haku was a good person, and so was Zabuza somewhere deep down, they were just caught up in a bad situation with the wrong people," Naruto explained. "Haku was the person who taught me what it really means to be a shinobi, to fight to protect my precious people. If we could, I'd to help them this time around, maybe bring them back to Konoha or something if they want to come."

"It's possible, Naruto," Kakashi responded. "But ultimately, that kind of decision isn't mine to make, though I wouldn't mind helping you to bring them here if it's okay with you, Hokage-sama."

"I think we could work something out," Hiruzen said. "But please continue, I know this is just the beginning."

Naruto went on to describe the events of the Chūnin Exams, making sure to not miss any important details, including Sasuke's curse seal from Orochimaru, Kabuto's involvement as a spy, Naruto's training under Jiraiya, the invasion and all of its own little details, Naruto's fight with Gaara, and what he heard of Hiruzen's fight with Orochimaru as well as his death.

"To be killed by my own student..." Hiruzen trailed off and then sighed. "I should have killed him when I had the chance all those years ago."

"That sounds exactly like what that snake bastard would do," Jiraiya spat. "Kill the Kazekage and then manipulate Suna into invading us along with Oto. To go as far as using Edo Tensei in order to summon the Shodaime and the Nidaime to use against you... That's disgusting."

"Tell me about it," Naruto said. "From what I know the jutsu can only be dispelled by the one who casts it, so even if we kill Orochimaru the jutsu wouldn't end. The only way to defeat someone summoned by it is to seal them. And even though most sealing methods could possibly halt the body for a while, if someone got the body out somehow then they'd just keep going. And I only know of two sealing methods that would affect the soul itself, which would stop them completely."

"Wait, two methods?" Hiruzen queried. "The only one I know of is the Shiki Fūjin, the same one your father used on the Kyūbi. What's the other one?"

"I don't know the details exactly," Naruto said, "But it's something Itachi Uchiha did. He activated Susano'o, one of his jutsus that comes from his Mangekyō Sharingan, and then he stabbed... someone summoned by Edo Tensei with some weird sword he had with Susano'o out, and then he got sealed inside of a gourd he was carrying."

"Sounds an awful lot like the Sword of Totsuka if you ask me," Jiraiya said.

"Too bad it's in the possession of a horrible traitor," Kakashi remarked.

At this statement Naruto gave Hiruzen a pleading look, silently asking to reveal the truth about Itachi. Hiruzen sighed, wondering if such a truth should be revealed to Jiraiya and Kakashi. But he quickly cast that thought away, knowing that if Naruto knew, then such information would likely have to be brought up sooner or later. So Hiruzen steeled himself, and delved into the truth behind the Uchiha Clan Massacre. Needless to say, both Jiraiya and Kakashi were shocked by the revelation, to say the least.

"Well, that was all very... interesting, to say the least," Kakashi said. "But we should get back on track. Are you ready to continue, Naruto?"

Naruto continued his story, and they quickly had a discussion about the arrival of Itachi and Kisame early on in the quest to find Tsunade. They deduced that this was Itachi's way of warning them of the dangers that could befall Naruto, but that he did a poor job of trying to affect Sasuke for the better. Due to his roundabout methods, Itachi pushed Sasuke further towards Orochimaru, rather than steer him towards the kind of person he wanted Sasuke to be. There was not much to say about Tsunade's return or her ascension to Hokage, save for a few laughs at Naruto's nickname for the Slug Sannin. After this Naruto detailed the events of Sasuke's departure from Konoha and his defection to Orochimaru for the sake of power.

"I can't believe he would go that far just for more power, to even consider killing his best friend," Hiruzen said.

"Why not?" Jiraiya asked. "He sounds just like a young Orochimaru. He lost his family and because of that, lusted for power."

"It didn't help either when Itachi forced him to see his own weakness," Kakashi spoke up. "It made Sasuke feel like he had to get stronger no matter what, and that he couldn't find that strength in Konoha. Compound that with his apparent superiority-inferiority complex with Naruto, and then you've got one messed up kid."

"I think Kakashi-sensei and I should do a better job of giving bonds to him, something he felt like he hasn't had since his family died," Naruto said.

"I agree," Hiruzen replied. "We also cannot allow Sasuke to be branded with the curse seal because of its affect on the mind. If we could find a way to wean him from revenge at least somewhat, then that would be for the best."

"What about Itachi?" Naruto asked. "What should we do about him?"

"'What,' indeed, Naruto-kun," Hiruzen sighed. "I will consider that privately and converse with you all about it at a later time. For now, you should continue."

Naruto went on from where he left off and detailed his training trip with Jiraiya. After that he told them of the mission to rescue his friend and fellow jinchūriki, Gaara. They were surprised to hear that Chiyo gave her life in order to bring back Gaara's after the extraction of Shukaku but otherwise this was not discussed much, save for the conclusion that this was around the time that Akatsuki became more aggressive.

Next, Naruto detailed the mission that had Yamato, Sakura, Sai, and himself going after Sasuke once more. Naruto did not neglect to mention that Sai was one of Danzo's ROOT agents or his secret mission to assassinate Sasuke, but he did talk about how in the future Sai eventually overcame his loyalty to Danzo.

Naruto then detailed the events involving Hidan and Kakuzu and his elemental training that resulted in the creation of the initial Fūton: Rasenshuriken, including the death of Asuma at the hands of Hidan, Shikamaru's revenge, and Kakuzu's defeat. Hiruzen, and to a lesser extent Kakashi, were visibly saddened by the fact that Asuma had met his end. However, the topic did not linger, and Naruto once more pressed forward.

The next topic was Sasuke, and how he apparently defeated Orochimaru, formed a team to go after Itachi, and then defeated and killed Itachi as well. Naruto also told them of his strange encounter with Itachi before the battle that ultimately led to his death, and how what Itachi did would make sense later. He also explained the incident with Tobi, and told them of the fact that his initial personality was just a facade and would later claim himself to be Madara Uchiha, the true leader behind Akatsuki. Naruto made sure to tell them that the man was not actually Madara, but that he was an Uchiha who was powerful enough to back the claim up, and that he would tell his audience of Tobi's real identity soon. They settled for this but were all wondering what other Uchiha could possibly be left alive, let alone strong enough to assume Madara's identity. They were also curious as to how Naruto knew so much about Itachi's abilities and his possession of the Sword of Totsuka, but left that alone since they figured Naruto would tell them in due time.

After this, Naruto delved into the events surrounding Jiraiya's death. He talked about Jiraiya's foray into Amegakure to learn more about Akatsuki, and how he fought and died against the six paths of Pain, who were being controlled remotely by Nagato thanks to his abilities with the Rinnegan. He also described the abilities that each one held, as well as the fact that Yahiko was one of the dead bodies in use, and told them that Konan was also a part of Akatsuki. Needless to say, Jiraiya was quite upset at this revelation.

"You mean to tell me," Jiraiya started, "that the apparently fake leader of Akatsuki is none other than one of my old students, all of which I thought were dead, and that he killed me in battle?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying, Ero-sennin," Naruto responded. "He calls himself a god, and claims to be aiming for peace by gathering all of the bijū to form a weapon that he intends to use to intimidate and control the world through fear. But that's not true peace, anyone with more than a few brain cells should be able to figure that out."

"Still, I can hardly wrap my head around it. To think that Nagato and Konan would turn out like that... they were nothing like that when I left them."

"There seems to be a pattern here," Kakashi wondered aloud in an almost amused tone. "Both Hokage-sama and Jiraiya-sama were killed by wayward students. I wonder if Sasuke wound up killing me..."

All of the tension seemed to leave the room. "No, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said in a deadpan manner. "You were still alive."

"Oh. Well, that's good," Kakashi said in a chipper tone with an eye-smile.

The others in the room merely looked at Kakashi with incredulous expressions for several seconds before Naruto continued on. He spoke of his mourning for Jiraiya, the closest thing he had experienced to a father, and how Shikamaru was able to bring Naruto out of his slump. His training with the toads to acquire the ability to use Sage Mode astounded Jiraiya due to not only the speed at which he mastered it, but that he mastered it to a higher degree than the original toad sage himself.

When Naruto told them of how Nagato decimated Konoha on his own, those not from the future cringed at the thought. Naruto talked about the fight leading up to the time when he was finally pinned down with chakra blades by the lone remaining path. At this point, Hinata finally spoke up.

"Like many others, I had been watching the battle take place. I wanted to interfere, but my bodyguard at the time told me that I would only get in the way. I knew it was true, that neither I nor anyone else in the village was a match for him. But when I saw Naruto-kun get pinned down I couldn't stop myself. I rushed in with no concern my own well-being, knowing that if I didn't intervene, Naruto would surely lose. When Naruto-kun asked me why I came, I... I..."

"It's okay, Hinata-chan, I'll finish," Naruto interrupted. Hinata was glad he did; she was already tearing up from the recollection of the event and was unsure of if she could keep speaking. The rest of them said nothing, though they had a good idea of what exactly was going through her mind and why she joined the fight. Naruto continued where she left off, leaving out her confession to him. He spoke of his rage in response to her supposed death, his uncontrolled transformation, and how he nearly unleashed the full fury of Kurama, and would have had his father not come. The others in the room were caught off guard by this information, amazed at the foresight the Yondaime had.

Naruto then finished his recollection of the fight and his eventual conversation with Nagato. Those in the room were once again floored by the way Naruto managed to once again cause a change of heart to occur in what should have been a mortal enemy, and the fact that Nagato was able to bring back to life all those he had killed since he arrived in Konoha.

Naruto continued to talk for quite a while without interruption up until he got to the point where he described Tobi's plan to bring peace. Everyone in the room agreed that living in a genjutsu world was not a peace worth having. After a while he got to the part where he was fighting Kurama for control of his chakra. Kushina's intervention in the fight and the revelation that she also appeared to and spoke with Naruto was another shock to those listening, but they got over it quickly compared to when said his father appeared. Eventually, Naruto got to the point where he and B faced off against the resurrected forms of Nagato and Itachi. Once Naruto finished detailing the fight, it answered the questions the others had about Itachi, specifically the significance of the crow that went inside of Naruto and how Naruto got so acquainted with Itachi's abilities after his death. They were also fairly angry about the extent to which Kabuto utilized Edo Tensei, and Hiruzen resolved to do something about Kabuto well before he can do anything of the sort this time around.

Once Naruto got to the point where he told them about the resurrected Madara and the fact that he had the Rinnegan, those not from the future were terrified at the mere idea. Even when Naruto said that the five Kage appeared to fight him, they remained doubtful of a good outcome.

He then went on to detail the battle between Tobi and the resurrected jinchūriki, and Naruto, B, Kakashi, and Gai. After Naruto told them that he and Kurama had become partners, the rest of them could hardly believe that the great demon fox would ever want to partner up or become friends with anyone, but they had no choice but to believe Naruto.

Finally, Naruto told them of Tobi's true identity after some more fighting and exposition about the means to their ultimate goal. To say Kakashi was devastated by the fact that his supposedly dead friend and teammate Obito was behind everything was an understatement. It took every ounce of willpower Kakashi possessed to tell Naruto to continue, and he knew that after this he would have a lot to think and reflect on.

Eventually after he told them of more of the fighting that went on, Naruto spoke of how the rest of the Allied Shinobi Forces arrived to make their final stand against Madara, Obito, and the Jūbi. Soon Naruto came to the event that set this all into motion, the fact that Hinata once again put herself in harm's way in order to save his life all over again. He spoke of how he retreated into his own mind upon seeing her jump in the way of the attack for him and how he lost his resolve, only for Kurama to give him hope again in the form of the jutsu that brought them back in time.

Naruto did not go into much more detail, he only mentioned that they will not get another chance to do it in their lifetime and that only Kurama can use it. However, that did not stop the three older men from wondering about any other little intimate details may have been left out. The blush on the cheeks of the two younger kids was proof enough for them though, so they decided not to press it, though Jiraiya was taking a few mental notes.

"Okay. There. Now you guys have the whole story," Naruto said with finality, clearly tired of telling what was essentially his rather hectic life story of the last five years.

"Indeed we do, Naruto-kun," Hiruzen chuckled. "We all have a lot to think about for some time to come, and I think it would be best for us all to take some time to reflect on our own before we come together in order to come to any decisions about things later. For now, I want you all to train when you can, and to do it seriously. As we all know now, there's a lot of dangerous events on the horizon and we need to be ready, especially for anything unexpected that might arise."

"You got it, jiji!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, sensei."

"Understood."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"Good," Hiruzen replied. "I'm sure you can all do fine on your own, but I think it would be best if we could all work training together when we can. Now, we've all had a long day and I think we could all use some rest. If I could see you all tomorrow afternoon around five o'clock, I'd like for us to talk about any loose ends or questions we may have. Until then, good night."

And so each person went their separate ways, all with their own questions or concerns, hoping that the future they see would end up better than the one presented to them.


	5. Shut Up, No One Cares!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**A/N: Glad you guys seem to enjoy this as much as I do writing it. I noticed some of you had concerns about events that may or may not play out the same as they did in the past timeline. Well, you can put those to rest; if I don't change stuff up about certain scenes or fights, then you can expect a quick summary of what happens rather than retelling the entire thing. Trust me, I know how boring it can be to read paragraph upon paragraph on stuff that isn't changed from canon, hoping that eventually something gets changed only for it to be the same, and then feel like you just wasted a bunch of time reading about something you're already familiar with. With that said, I will be changing things around where I see fit. Don't expect much major stuff until during/after the Chūnin Exams though, as it really is like a sort of crossroads for the story, where a lot of things that happen at that point determine a lot of things about the future. However, I want you guys to know that I have something planned for after the Wave mission, before the exams start. So I hope you look forward to it!**

**Now that you've read (or skipped) all of that, enjoy the next chapter, and remember to review!**

* * *

**Chapter 5:** _Shut Up, No One Cares!_

* * *

After the others left his office, Hiruzen began to think about all that he had learned about the future. What weighed most heavily on his mind was his own death at the hands of his former pupil, Orochimaru. He thought it far too surreal to be told that had things continued as they were, he would be dead in little more than a year. Death would not have come for him in something as mundane as old age or a fatal illness, but rather in the form of a battle to protect the village and people he loved more than anything in the world. A fitting death for a great shinobi it may have been, but he found it hard to swallow that the entire scenario could simply be laid out before him and he could see exactly how it would occur.

_Now that I know what is to come, I regret letting Orochimaru leave more than ever,_ the aged Hokage thought. _I had hoped I would never see him again, that he would at least leave his old home and comrades in peace, but I suppose it truly was just wishful thinking... But now I know what is to come. I can prepare. _We_ can prepare. I will not allow him to do as he pleases when the time comes. I will do what I should have done years before. I will make sure he can never threaten anyone ever again, and I will do it the only way I know how._

* * *

After Jiraiya left the tower, he fell into a sort of trance as he walked back to his hotel. He used that time to go over all of the information he just acquired, trying to sync it up with the things he already knew from his own spy network. Before he knew it he was laying down in his bed, still trying to make sense of it all. To most people, Jiraiya knew that what he had heard today would be nothing more than a fantastical story; a good story with plenty of intrigue and drama it may have been, but still just a story. But Jiraiya knew better. Naruto knew too much and had far too much talent and ability for Jiraiya to simply disregard him, and the things he said lined up well enough with his own information to believe him. He knew it was not some sort of elaborate trick, and he trusted everything Naruto had said happened.

But that did not mean he liked it.

_Nagato... I wanted you to be the Child of Prophecy. I thought that you really could be the one to bring peace at last, but I guess I was wrong,_ Jiraiya thought, doing his best to resist any emotional pulls to anger or sadness. _To think losing Yahiko like you did would change you and Konan so much. Damn it all, how could you sink so low!? I taught you all better than that! To seek peace through destruction, and be controlled by some bastard from the shadows... That's not what I would have wanted! That's not what _Yahiko_ would have wanted! I should just leave for Ame now and kill you myself... Save a lot of grief for everyone else..._

Jiraiya ended such thoughts before they could take root in his mind, knowing they could very well bring naught but folly. To go alone would be a fool's errand, and even with all of his current knowledge, things could easily turn out just as Naruto said they did before.

"Ugh... shit, where's Tsunade? I could use a drinking buddy right about now.

* * *

Outwardly, Hatake Kakashi appeared to be acting relatively normal, walking the streets of Konoha to a destination only he knew. However, anyone who knew him decently well could tell that something was wrong. It was impossible to tell what might be bothering him, but to see him walking around town without being buried nose-deep in one of the Icha Icha novels was practically unheard of, and a certain jōnin in green spandex noticed this small detail.

"Kakashi! My eternal rival! How are you doing on this youthful evening!?" Gai exclaimed with as much youth as he could muster.

Kakashi sighed. "Sorry Gai, but I'm really not in the mood for our usual banter. Maybe I'll tell you about it some other time."

With his part said, Kakashi set out for the nearest bar without sparing a single look towards Gai, who had adopted a rarely seen thoughtful expression at Kakashi's quick dismissal. Gai knew that whatever was troubling his friend must have been exceptionally difficult to deal with if he was as affected by it as he seemed, but decided not to pester him about it unless it appeared prudent. The man in green went on his way, hoping that Kakashi would be back to normal soon.

Meanwhile, in a bar not far away, a forgettable looking man stood behind a counter, absently wiping down a glass when an unusual looking ninja entered his bar and approached a nearby stool. His three most defining features were his face mask, which covered his lower face from the nose down, his headband, which covered up his left eye, and long silver hair that seemed to defy the law of gravity. The strange shinobi took a seat, asked for the strongest stuff available, and then proceeded to rest his chin on his hands. His lone visible eye was half closed and looking toward the floor. The bartender obliged and decided to leave the man to his thoughts, having seen the look in his eye too many times to count. He knew that regardless of what was on the ninja's mind, he was unlikely to be forthcoming with it. But a customer was a customer, and this man looked like he needed to get something off of his mind one way or another.

Kakashi waited until the bartender's gaze left him, and quickly lowered his mask to down the drink before quickly replacing it and asking for another.

_Rin... Sensei... what would you do? Obito... what would the _old_ you do?_

* * *

The next day, the time travelers and their accomplices gathered in Hiruzen's office at the previously appointed time, even the chronically late Kakashi.

Hiruzen was the first to speak. "Now that we've had time to think on what we've learned of the future, we should start making definite plans. But before we do that, I want to make sure that you two," he pointed at Jiraiya and Kakashi, "Have come to terms with the more... hard-hitting news you heard yesterday. I myself took quite some time to think about Orochimaru and his role in my death, and have resolved to do something about it during the Chūnin Exams that will be held here next year. What about you, Jiraiya, Kakashi?"

Jiraiya took a deep breath and exhaled before talking. "To be honest, the whole thing is damn mind boggling but what got to me the most was the involvement of Nagato and Konan. I never would have expected them to turn out like this, regardless of anything, but I guess that just goes to show what the death of a close friend can do to you. For a bit, I thought about going straight to Ame and confronting them right now, but I know how stupid that would be, even if I do know what I'm up against. It's just not worth the risk, no matter how I feel like it's my duty to go kill them as soon as possible."

"I don't want them to die, Ero-sennin, not unless I can't convince them to my way of thinking again. I want to at least try that first," Naruto responded.

"Look kid, I can't say I disagree with you, but I think it will come down to a fight no matter what happens. Based on what you said yesterday, they're gonna come at us fists first with no regards to what we have to say, so don't get it in your head that just because you know what say means you can get off without a fight against everyone. Sadly, that's not the way the world works."

"I know that, but it still sucks," Naruto said with a scowl.

"You got that right," Jiraiya said with a sigh. "What about you, Kakashi? How are you taking this?"

"I was taking it pretty hard, I have to admit. But the more I think about it, the more it becomes clear that The Obito I knew is dead, and has been for a long time. It doesn't matter who that masked person is; what does matter is that he has to be stopped, and no amount of talking is going to change his mind. If I have to... I'll kill him myself when the time comes."

"I get how hard it can be, Kakashi-sensei. Each time I faced off against Sasuke, it felt like I had to fight myself just as hard as I fought him. He may have been out to kill me, but I don't think I can say the same. I don't know if I ever could, because even after everything he did, I always saw him as the brother I never had. To kill him, I'd probably have to kill a part of myself too, and I don't want to do that. I think if only I or Itachi or someone else could have said the right things to him, Sasuke could have gotten over his hatred. But if it came down to it... if it was me against him in a fight to the death... I just don't know if I could make myself go that far."

"Naruto..." Jiraiya replied. "Killing someone is never easy, and it never should be, especially if they're as close as you and Sasuke seemed to be. And you're right, when you kill someone, you have to kill your emotions too. Trust me, I've been your position; when Orochimaru left the village, I could have tried harder to fight him... to kill him... but I couldn't make myself do it, and neither could sensei. And look where that got us – Orochimaru is who he is because we couldn't do what needed to be done. I don't want you to make the same mistakes. Some people... are just better off dead."

"He's right, Naruto," Kakashi continued. "It's the same conclusion I came to with Obito. It's not going to be easy, but it's for the best. And while it may be too late for Obito, it's not for Sasuke. We have time before he goes off the deep end, and we know Orochimaru's plans for him," Kakashi smiled beneath his mask before he finished. "We'll figure something out."

"Thanks guys," Naruto sniffed. "I missed getting advice from you."

"I know you'll do the right thing, Naruto-kun," Hinata said with a slight pink tint in her cheeks.

"Thanks, Hinata-chan," Naruto said with a small blush of his own.

Neither blush escaped the notice of the three other men in the room, but they did not have any outward reaction, save for Jiraiya, who had a thoughtful expression plastered on his face, wondering if he should base the protagonists in one of his future works on them.

Hiruzen coughed to shift attention back to him. "Anyway, I think we should focus on the Chūnin exams we will be having next year, and what we want to do about that."

"Hold on, jiji," Naruto interrupted. "I think we should talk about what kind of training we'll be doing before then. And I also have a bit of a request about the genin teams for when we graduate. You see – well – um..." Naruto blushed again and began to fidget.

Everyone in the room could tell what the request was already, but Hinata decided to finish for him.

"We would like to be placed on the same team," Hinata said with another blush.

Hiruzen thought that such an arrangement would probably be for the best, but decided to press them for their own reasons, hoping to get them to admit their feelings outright.

"Why is that?" Hiruzen asked in a faked stern tone. "The teams from your class that you talked about seemed to be perfectly balanced."

"Well, if we did this, I'd just trade Sakura for Hinata," Naruto said. "No offense to Kakashi-sensei, but I think Sakura could learn more from Kurenai-sensei, since Sakura was always a genjutsu type anyway. Plus, this way she won't be able to fawn over Sasuke all the time, which would just get in the way of... well everything."

"I agree, Kurenai would be a good sensei for her, and she might even be able to squash Sakura's more... fanatical tendencies right out of her," Kakashi added.

"Also, I think my team was too focused on tracking," Hinata said. "Kiba and Shino would be enough for tracking, I think, but Naruto-kun's team didn't have a tracker, and I think it would be good if they did."

"Well, I have my dogs for that," Kakashi remarked. "But then again, I suppose it would be nice to have someone who can track so I don't always have to summon my dogs to do it."

"I see," Hiruzen replied. "Those are all valid reasons, but I'm not sure they merit such a change. Do you have any other reasons? Even if they're just personal?" Hiruzen finished with a knowing smile.

Both time travelers' faces became rather red at the insinuation, and Jiraiya could not stop himself from bursting into laughter.

"Aw, come on sensei," Jiraiya said when he finally stopped laughing. "As funny as this is, you know they're probably right. I think it's a good change-up myself. Plus, this way it'll be easy for them to get some much needed alone time so that they can –"

Naruto promptly sucker punched Jiraiya before he could go further. Hinata turned redder than a tomato and fainted. Hiruzen and Kakashi both sweatdropped at the exchange.

"Shit! Damn it, brat, was that really necessary!?" Jiraiya yelled as he pulled himself up from the floor and wiped some blood from his nose, whether it was from the punch, perverted fantasies, or both, no one knew.

"Yeah, it was you stupid pervert!" Naruto retorted as he pulled Hinata up, who was slowly coming to her senses.

"Okay, that's enough you two," Hiruzen chuckled. "I agree, such a switch would probably be beneficial. Besides the reasons mentioned, I think it would be good to have both time travelers working together anyway, since they have the best knowledge of the future. Now, I believe you wanted to talk about what kind of training we should be doing, Naruto-kun. What did you have in mind for yourself?"

"First of all, for both Hinata-chan and myself, I'd like some gravity seals, since I know Ero-sennin can make them. They'll help with both our speed and our strength, which happen to be one of my biggest concerns right now, and also our stamina and chakra reserves."

"Sounds easy enough, squirt," Jiraiya replied. "What I'll do is put them on some bracers. You add chakra to them, and it'll increase gravity for you. Expel the stored chakra, and gravity will return to normal. Simple and efficient, way better than the weights that weirdo in spandex likes to use. But I'm only gonna make these for you on one condition."

"Huh? What kind of condition?" Naruto questioned.

"Lose the hideous orange jumpsuit. Forever," Jiraiya deadpanned.

"_What_!? No way, Ero-sennin! Orange is my favorite color! Besides, it's symbolic, it's supposed to represent that I'm the son of the Yellow Flash and the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero. You can't just ask me to not wear orange!"

"I'm not telling you to ditch orange altogether," Jiraiya sighed. "But wearing that much orange stands out like a sore thumb and just screams 'kill me now.' Honestly, you're lucky you survived as long as you did."

"Fine, I'll do it," Naruto said, defeated.

"Um, Naruto-kun, if you want, I can go clothes shopping with you later and help you pick something," Hinata said.

"Thanks, Hinata-chan. I'd like that," Naruto said with a smile.

"Good. Here's some cash for a whole new wardrobe," Jiraiya said as he gave Naruto some money to do just that. "God knows you need it."

"Thanks, Ero-sennin! But where should I go? Most places would just throw me out these days now that I think about it."

"Geez, you're dense kid. Just transform into someone else. Not like any of the civilians are gonna notice one."

Naruto formed a tick mark on his forehead at Jiraiya's obvious solution, but had no other outward reaction.

"As for the other things I wanted to train in," Naruto continued after his slight rage subsided. "I want to be more well-rounded in my ninjutsu; I want to learn more fūton ninjutsu, since I'm a wind type, but also some in one or two other elements, but I don't know which ones. I also want to learn fūinjutsu, since I'm guessing will come to me easily thanks to who my parents were. Lastly, I want to train in some kind of weapon. Swords never really felt right though, and Asuma-sensei's trench knives are cool and all, but they aren't really my style."

"Well, none of us are particularly good with wind, but we can get you some scrolls from the library or something for some fūton jutsu. As for fūinjutsu, I think Jiraiya-sama would be more than happy to teach you that," Kakashi said as Jiraiya nodded. "As for a suitable weapon... Well, you obviously want something that's suited for a wind type like yourself, and those big fans they use in Suna come to mind..."

"I, uh, like the _idea_ behind the fan, but I don't think it would be a good fit for me, seeing as how they're only for long range and they're kind of unwieldy in my opinion," Naruto said.

"Hmm... I think I know just the thing, Naruto-kun," Hiruzen said. "Long ago, there were some traveling monks who were proficient in the use of the staff. By itself, the staff can be quite the formidable close-range weapon in the right hands. However, these monks were also capable of using them similarly to the great fans in Suna. The technique has fallen into disuse, but I happen to know the theory behind it. By charging the staff with wind chakra, and then swinging it while expelling the chakra, it was possible to create great gusts of wind. Unfortunately, the theory behind the wind attacks is all that I am familiar with, not the application. However, I am a master of bōjutsu, and would be happy to pass my abilities with the staff on to you, Naruto-kun."

"That sounds awesome, jiji! I think that's the best choice for a weapon for me!" Naruto said excitedly.

"I'm glad you think so, Naruto-kun," Hiruzen said with a warm smile. "Now that we're done discussing Naruto-kun's training, what about you, Hinata-chan? Do you know what you want to do?"

"For now I just want to improve the basics, like my speed, stamina, and chakra reserves, but the seals that Jiraiya-sama will make should take care of those. Besides that, I have never felt very comfortable with the taijutsu of my clan, Jūken; I have tried many things to adapt to it but it just doesn't seem to suit me. I'm not sure what I should do. Besides that, I'd like to find out my elemental affinity and perhaps incorporate it into my fighting style."

_Perhaps by learning her affinity, we can kill two birds with one stone_, Hiruzen thought. "Hinata, I happen to have some chakra paper in my desk. If you'll allow me a moment to find a slip of it, we can test for your affinity right now."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Hinata replied with a bow.

"Don't mention it," Hiruzen replied as he handed her the paper. "Now, just channel some chakra into it and based on how it reacts we'll know your affinity."

Hinata did as instructed and the chakra paper immediately became wet.

"I see that you have an affinity for water," Hiruzen said. "That actually explains your difficulty with adapting to the Jūken."

"W-What?" Hinata stammered out. "I don't understand, Hokage-sama."

"You see, a person's chakra affinity has a tendency to affect not just their preference for elemental ninjutsu, but also their taijutsu style," Hiruzen explained. Water types tend to move their whole bodies in a sort of flow when they fight, and are usually very flexible. Fire types usually combine a high amount of power with debilitating blows. Wind types prefer a more free form, unpredictable attack style. Lightning types like sharp, quick, precise attacks. Finally, earth types have a tough, rigid form that tend to have very few openings. Jūken most heavily favors those with an earth or lightning affinity, and it's likely that the best users of it are well-suited for both.

"However, water is naturally opposed to both earth and lightning. Since you happen to be a water type, Hinata-chan, I'm not surprised to hear that you have difficulty with the standard Jūken. However, I know of a solution. There is a variation of Jūken called Jūho that favors water types like yourself, and I'm sure you'll take to it much more easily."

"I actually know a Jūho technique already," Hinata said. "It's called Jūho Sōshiken, but I never knew that Jūho was its own style. I'll look through the archives in my clan to learn more."

"Very well," Hiruzen said. "As for myself, I believe it is my basic skills that need the most work – until recently I've had to focus all of my time into my duties as the Hokage, and none into my training. Jiraiya, I suggest you make those bracers with the gravity seals for all of us, including yourself. They're invaluable training tools, and I think we could all benefit from them."

"I agree, Hokage-sama," Kakashi replied. "Other than that, for myself I need to reawaken my Mangekyō Sharingan, since apparently I already awakened it at some point, and possibly reverse engineer those Chidori variations that Sasuke apparently came up with."

"Yeah, the gravity seals are gonna be good for all of us," Jiraiya said. "Aside from that, I think my main concern is going to be mastering Sage Mode. To be honest, I'm kind of pissed that Naruto has a better grasp on it than me," Jiraiya finished with a scowl.

"Ha! Like you'd ever beat me at anything, Ero-sennin!" Naruto said with a huge grin.

"Oh yeah, brat!? Don't think I didn't notice the way you formed the Rasengan. You need a freaking clone just to pull it off, that's pathetic!"

"Hey! I can fix that little problem in no time at all, easy! I just never felt like it..." Naruto trailed off. "Besides that, what else is there, huh!?"

"Well, I can think of a few things..." Jiraiya said with a perverted grin and a nosebleed. "For examp –"

Jiraiya once again received a fist to the face before he could continue.

"Gah! Shut up, no one cares!"

"You brat! With that attitude you'll never be able to really enjoy the finer things in life, like –"

This time Jiraiya saw the punch coming and was ready to block, but it did not matter as Kakashi had finally stepped in between them.

"Now, now," he said as he caught the punch. "This isn't getting us anywhere, so try to calm down, okay guys?" Kakashi said in a placating manner. "Besides, Jiraiya does have a point, Naruto. You really should learn to form the Rasengan with one hand and no clones."

"Yeah, I get it, I'll get right on that," Naruto said. "Oh, and before I forget, I need a few more things from you, Ero-sennin."

"Huh? Oh, what?"

"I need to re-sign the toad summoning contract, and I need the key to my seal so me and Kurama can work together again."

"Yeah, I'll do that tomorrow. I'd do it now but I think I should tell the toads what's up first, just so they won't go crazy when I tell them that you're a sage, and that you have full control of the fox."

"Whatever, I guess that works. Thanks, Ero-sennin," Naruto said. "Oh, before we leave, I have a plan to make it so that Hinata and I can train more. I want to teach her Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, that way she can use them for training like I do. Also, I'd like to have clones attend our classes at the academy for us most of the time instead of always going ourselves."

"Do you use clones for everything, kid?" Jiraiya asked.

"Pretty much," was Naruto's concise answer. The others in the room sweatdropped.

"Well, given the circumstances, I think that's fine," Hiruzen said. "But I don't think she has the reserves right now to do so."

"_**Hey Naruto, you remember that once the seal gets opened you can transfer some of my chakra to her, right? If you do that, she won't have a problem making some clones,**_" Kurama said.

"_Yeah, thanks for reminding me,_" Naruto said internally. "On her own, not yet, but it's okay. Once the seal gets unlocked, I can give her some of Kurama's chakra, and then she'll be able to make plenty of clones."

"That's certainly a very useful ability, Naruto-kun," Hiruzen said. "In that case, it should be okay for you to send clones to class in your stead. Somehow, I get the feeling you both already know what you need to from the academy regardless." Hiruzen smirked. "That's all for now, I think. Meet up back here tomorrow, five o'clock."

"Yeah, let's go, Hinata-chan! It's time to get some new clothes, I guess," Naruto said.

The day's meeting over and done with, Naruto transformed into a random villager and left with Hinata for the nearest clothing store.

* * *

"So, what do you think, Naruto-kun?"

"You know, Hinata-chan, I gotta say, you have really good taste. I like them a lot."

Naruto and Hinata were leaving the clothing store, both in new clothes thanks to the generous amount of money given to them by Jiraiya. Naruto was wearing a long sleeve black shirt, rolled into orange cuffs halfway between his elbows and wrists, with the top half of the shirt open to reveal mesh armor underneath it. Over the shirt he wore a black, slightly long sleeveless vest with the red Uzumaki swirl pattern on the back. Over both of these he wore a black sash. The shirt, vest, and sash all had orange trimming and designs, showing his reluctance to give up his favorite color altogether. He also wore black pants with black shinobi sandals. Hinata merely settled for clothes similar to what she wore before they traveled back in time.

"I'm glad you like them, Naruto-kun. They really suit you."

"Thanks. Hey, are you gonna let your hair grow back out again?"

"Hmm... I don't know. Which would you prefer?"

"Definitely long. You know, I was thinking, if I let my hair get longer, do you think it would make me look more like my dad?"

Hinata had of course seen photos of Naruto's father, Minato Namikaze. She could not deny that if Naruto wound up looking just like him when he was older, that he would be a very handsome man.

"I think you should try it, Naruto-kun."

"You think? I mean, I always thought about growing it out, after I found out he was my dad, but just never did it for some reason.

"Yes, I think it would be cute," Hinata said, blushing.

Yeah, you know I always thought you looked really pretty with longer hair too," Naruto chuckled. Hinata blush deepened. As they were talking though, they did not realize that they would soon have to split up to go to their respective homes until it was time for them to go their separate ways.

"Hinata-chan, do you think I could walk you home?"

"Yes, Naruto-kun, I'd like that." After saying this they held hands and began to head towards the Hyūga compound in a comfortable silence.

As they approached the entrance to the compound, Hinata's father, Hiashi, exited the compound, with an errand of his own to run. The fact that Naruto and Hinata were holding hands did not escape his notice.

_So it's Naruto she has been spending time with_, Hiashi thought. _I suppose it is due to his influence that she has improved her confidence. I cannot say I approve of his reputation as a prankster, but not once has he ever done anything with any amount of malice, to my knowledge. Time will tell whether he will become a respectable man and shinobi, but I will withhold judgment for now, and simply observe._

"Good evening, Uzumaki-san, Hinata," Hiashi said.

"Good evening, Hyūga-san," Naruto said with a slight bow, trying to get on his good side.

Hinata simple nodded in response, not trusting her voice. She feared her father at this time may not approve of a relationship with Naruto, and did not want to provoke any sort of negative reaction from him. However, no more words were said, and Hiashi went on his way. Naruto and Hinata sighed in relief, glad that the situation did not get out of hand.

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Hinata-chan," Naruto said before giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, admittedly fearful of doing anything more in case Hiashi was looking behind him with his Byakugan activated.

"Good night, Naruto-kun," Hinata replied before going inside.

Naruto promptly headed back to his own apartment, happy that the events of the day went well.

* * *

The next day at the academy, Naruto and Hinata found themselves at the unwilling center of attention, due to their change in attire. Most of the students in the classroom stared at them, wondering what prompted Naruto to forgo his old jumpsuit.

"Wow, Naruto cleans up pretty well, don't you think so Sakura?" Ino said.

"Yeah right Ino-pig, like that idiot could ever compare to Sasuke-kun," Sakura responded. "He's probably just trying to show off, like usual."

"Whatever, forehead girl. I'm not saying he compares to Sasuke-kun or anything, but I don't think he's showing off either. Ever since the new school year, he's been acting differently, haven't you noticed?"

"It doesn't really matter, does it? He's still Naruto, and he's still an idiot."

"Maybe he is, honestly I don't know. But you can't deny that he's at least a bit different from before. He's not as loud, he doesn't pester you for dates, and he might just be a bit less dense too, since he's finally spending time with Hinata. I bet the new outfits were her idea, too."

"You're probably right, if nothing else I'm just glad he started leaving me alone. And you know, I'm not complaining, but I don't think I'll ever understand what Hinata sees in him."

"Who cares, forehead girl? It's not like it affects us."

"Shut up, Ino-pig. But you know, maybe this will make it easier for me to get Sasuke-kun to go out with me, since Naruto won't be trying to get with me anymore."

"In your dreams! Sasuke-kun could never love a forehead as big as that!"

As the two young kunoichi-in-training continued to bicker, the object of their affections happened to be seated nearby, and he heard the entire exchange.

_Something about Naruto is different, it's been apparent to me ever since the start of the year_. Sasuke thought._ I can't put my finger on it, but it's more than what everyone else can see. Did he suddenly get stronger? I have to test myself. I have to fight him._

With these thoughts in mind, Sasuke rose from his seat and approached Naruto who was a few rows behind him. Naruto noticed this, and could not help but ponder Sasuke's intentions, though he had an idea of what they were.

"Hey Sasuke," Naruto said as Sasuke stopped in front of him. "What's up?"

"Fight me," Sasuke replied. "During lunch, on the roof. Taijutsu only."

_Figured he'd say that_, Naruto thought. "Huh? What for?"

"I don't know how or why, but you seem stronger and I want to test myself. Or are you too much of a scaredy-cat?" Sasuke smirked.

"_**Just do it, Naruto**_," Kurama sighed. "_**He's not the type to just let this go, you might as well get it over with.**_"

"_Yeah, you're probably right_," Naruto thought. "Fine, I'll fight you. But I'll warn you now, don't take me lightly."

Sasuke walked back to his seat, internally excited at the prospect of a worthy opponent. However, most of the class was in agreement that Sasuke would emerge from the fight with an overwhelming victory.

_I can't wait to congratulate Sasuke after he wins!_ Sakura thought.

_**Shannaro! Sasuke is totally gonna kick that idiot's ass!**_ Thought Inner-Sakura.

"Ha! I can't wait to see Naruto make a fool of himself, it should be a good show. What do you think Akamaru?" Kiba said, earning a bark of agreement from the small dog perched on his head.

"How troublesome," Shikamaru said. "This is probably gonna get in the way of my cloud-watching."

"Come on, don't be like that," Chōji said. "You never know, it might actually be a good fight."

"I doubt it," Ino retorted. "Whether Naruto got better or not, I doubt he's on the same level as Sasuke-kun."

Shino merely watched the rest of the class impassively, slightly curious about how the fight would go.

"Naruto-kun, are you sure this is a good idea?" Hinata asked quietly.

"I don't know," Naruto answered honestly. "But Sasuke wasn't gonna give up on fighting me until we finally got around to it, so I figure that I really might as well just do it anyway."

"I suppose you're right, Naruto-kun."

* * *

Time passed and all of the students in Naruto's class came to the roof to watch the fight. They formed a large circle, giving the two combatants ample space to move around. Many were whispering how they thought the fight would go. Those who were talking all thought Sasuke would be the victor, the only difference was how long they thought Naruto would last.

"Are you ready?" Sasuke asked as he got into his stance.

"Anytime," was Naruto's simple response, opting for no stance at all. "Go ahead and make the first move."

Sasuke waited for a few seconds, thinking of the best way to start. Naruto already had a plan of action. He knew that as he was, Sasuke was likely faster than him with about equal strength. However, by using some chakra, he would be able to augment his abilities and easily overwhelm Sasuke in both.

_I shouldn't have to use much chakra, if any at all, to beat him_, Naruto thought. _Plus I've got plenty of experience to draw on. To bad Sasuke doesn't know that._

The next second Sasuke took off at top speed, beginning his assault with a flying roundhouse kick. Naruto ducked below the strike and swept Sasuke's feet out from under him as he landed. As Sasuke was falling Naruto tried to follow-up with a punch to the solar plexus, but Sasuke rolled out of the way just in time once he hit the ground.

Once Sasuke was back on his feet, he once again went at Naruto, this time with a flurry of punches and kicks. Naruto blocked or dodged all of the easily read attacks, making no attempt to counter them. As Sasuke reared his fist back for a powerful punch, Naruto took the opportunity presented to him. He easily timed it so that he could brush the punch to the side, and then punched Sasuke in the stomach. Sasuke doubled over from the power of the blow, and Naruto was able to kick him into the air and away, across the makeshift arena.

Naruto did not continue his offensive, and waited for Sasuke to pull himself off the floor. However, Sasuke did not charge in this time. Instead, he began making hand signs, frustrated that Naruto was winning.

_That idiot!_ Naruto thought._ If he launches a fireball here, he could fry half the class!_

Not taking any chances, Naruto applied some chakra to his legs and rushed over to Sasuke's position. Before Sasuke could finish inhaling air in preparation for the upcoming fireball, Naruto was right in front of him, with his fist about to strike Sasuke in the face.

Sasuke was unable to dodge or block and took the full brunt of the hit. He fell back onto the ground, too stunned to get back up.

"How the hell did you move that quickly?" Sasuke asked.

"Dumb-ass!" Naruto yelled, avoiding the question. "You could have burned our classmates to a crisp with that fire jutsu you were about to use! Besides that, this was supposed to be taijutsu only, you said it yourself!"

"Hn, whatever," Sasuke said nonchalantly as he rose to his feet while absently rubbing his chin. "I guess this is a draw."

"A _draw_? Are you kidding me? You didn't get in a single hit!" Naruto said.

"So? It's not like your hits hurt or anything," Sasuke retorted.

"Is that so?" Naruto said, annoyed. "Then why are you still rubbing your chin from the last hit, huh!?"

Sasuke growled, but otherwise did not respond, before he left to return to the classroom.

"Geez, he's just like I remember him," Naruto mumbled before also returning to the classroom with Hinata at his side.

The spectators, however, did not move, many of them in a state of disbelief. They soon began to talk about what they had just witnessed.

"I wonder why Sasuke-kun was holding back," Sakura said.

"I don't think he was, Sakura," Ino said. "It looked more like Naruto was the one holding back, and he still somehow managed to outclass Sasuke-kun."

"Yeah right, Ino-pig. You heard Sasuke-kun, it was a draw. I bet he decided that idiot wasn't worth his time after all and held himself back, not that you'd be able to see that," Sakura remarked, sure that Sasuke was unbeatable.

"Whatever, forehead," Ino snorted, unconvinced. She could not help but be curious at Naruto's sudden increase in ability. She was then broken from her thoughts when she overheard the conversation between Chōji and Shikamaru.

"Wow, I never knew Naruto was that good. I wonder what kind of training he does," Chōji said.

"Who knows?" Shikamaru replied. "It's troublesome, but it's not any of our business."

"Well, I say we make it our business!" Ino cut in. Both boys were a bit startled at her sudden interruption, but she continued. "Let's tail Naruto and Hinata after class is over and see what they're up to."

"I wouldn't mind finding out," Chōji said as he opened a bag of chips. "What do you think, Shikamaru?"

"I think it's way too troublesome to try and find out," Shikamaru drawled. "I'd much rather just go home and watch the clouds."

"Don't be lazy, Shikamaru!" Ino said. "You either come with me to investigate, or I tell your mom that you still sleep through all of your classes."

"Fine, I'll go," Shikamaru said, annoyed, before adding to his statement in a hushed tone. "... Troublesome woman."

* * *

After class was over, Ino, Chōji, and Shikamaru followed Naruto and Hinata out of the academy, being careful not to get caught by them. Unsurprisingly, the first place they stopped at was Ichiraku Ramen. They decided to wait for them in an alley across the street.

Meanwhile, Naruto and Hinata conversed over their food.

"You know we're being followed by Ino, Chōji, and Shikamaru, right?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah, it's probably just Ino being nosy and dragging the other two along with her," Naruto replied. "I don't think it'll be a big deal, once we get into jiji's office, they won't be able to see or hear anything they shouldn't."

"Yes, that's true."

Once they finished eating, Naruto and Hinata headed for the Hokage tower once more, followed by three other academy students. However, when Naruto and Hinata went inside, Ino and the others quickly found that they could go no further.

"What in the world could they possibly need to do at Hokage Tower?" Ino wondered aloud.

"It doesn't matter," Shikamaru said. "We're not gonna be able to see or hear whatever they do in there, and I don't think any of us feel like waiting for them to come out. It's troublesome that we didn't even learn anything, but I think I'm just gonna go home, you two do what you want."

"Yeah, I'm with Shikamaru on this one," Chōji agreed. "Sorry, Ino."

They all decided to go home, knowing that it would be pointless to wait. Ino, however, was not going to give up completely, and made a vow to herself before she left.

"Ugh... one way or another, I'll find out what's up with them."

* * *

Jūho Sōshiken – Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists: The user forms two large lion-shaped shrouds of chakra around their hands, then attacks the opponent with them.

* * *

**A/N: Naruto's new outfit looks almost exactly like the default outfit worn by Yuri Lowell in Tales of Vesperia, except he has mesh armor underneath the shirt, shinobi sandals instead of boots, and his pants, shirt, vest, and sash are primarily black with orange trim.**

**I'm thinking about getting a Beta reader for this story. Not that my writing isn't amazing by itself or anything. But a little help can't be a bad thing, so if you're interested, send me a PM and we'll see what happens.**

**Special thanks to Titokhan for reminding me to include the Uzumaki clan symbol somewhere on Naruto's new outfit, the chapter has been updated with that detail included.**


	6. I Don't Want to Hear it From You!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**A/N: Last chapter, it was pointed out to me by Titokhan that Naruto's new outfit lacks the Uzumaki clan symbol somewhere on it. I have since edited that little detail into chapter 5; the only difference is the vest has the red swirl on the back like Naruto's canon outfit and chūnin/jōnin vests.**

**Also I'd like to thank everyone who takes the time to review. I appreciate it, and I hope you all know that it does encourage me to write more and to write better.**

**Also still looking for a beta. If you're interested, just let me know in a PM.**

* * *

**Chapter 6:** _I Don't Want to Hear it From You!_

* * *

Naruto and Hinata entered Hiruzen's office at the appointed time once more to find that Hiruzen, Jiraiya, and Kakashi were all present. Before the older ninjas could greet them, Naruto told them about the prior events of the day, notably his scuffle with Sasuke and the fact that they were followed by Ino, Shikamaru, and Chōji.

"Well, you wanted to reconnect with your friends, if I recall," Kakashi said. "But I'm guessing this isn't exactly how you envisioned it."

"Yeah, that fight sounded like it would have been funny to watch," Jiraiya remarked. "Unfortunately, now you're gonna have all of your classmates paying attention to you in ways you don't need."

"Jiraiya is correct, Naruto-kun," Hiruzen said. "I understand that under the circumstances you most likely would have fought Sasuke at some point before graduation, but as you can see, your actions have already brought you under suspicion. I believe you should hide your abilities further, and maintain the position in class that you have always had. Honestly, you're lucky that no one noticed your use of chakra to enhance your speed; that's something you don't want to have to explain."

"I know we need to keep a low profile, jiji," Naruto said, slightly depressed. "But do I really have to go back to being the dead last again?"

"Unfortunately, it's for the best, Naruto-kun," Hiruzen replied. "That will minimize the attention you get from others, and hopefully your classmates will write the fight off as a fluke."

Hinata silently agreed with Hiruzen's suggestion, though she felt bad for Naruto regardless.

"I guess," Naruto said dejectedly. "But Sasuke won't be fooled. He might act like he's better than everyone else and he'd never admit I got the better of him, but he knows I did. He'll know I'm holding back and I doubt he'd let it go. And there's also Shikamaru. He may be the laziest person in Konoha, but he's also a genius and I doubt he'd pass this off as a fluke like everyone else."

"That may be so, but keep in mind that he's still a Nara," Hiruzen chuckled. "Just don't pique his curiosity and he'll likely consider it to be 'too troublesome,' much like his father would. As for Sasuke, I think we can work this to our favor. As you said, he will know better than anyone if you start holding back to the point where you retain your position as the dead last. At some point, knowing him, he will confront you over this, and I suggest you tell him this: you are holding back because you don't want to draw that sort of attention to yourself, so that you will be underestimated. Use it as an opportunity to gain his friendship. You will be an important part of keeping him grounded."

"Gotcha, jiji!" Naruto said.

"Alright, now that that's over with, I think it's time for you guys to take these," Jiraiya said as he set a scroll on Hiruzen's desk and unsealed its contents. Out of the smoke appeared five pairs of plain black bracers. "They've got some elasticity to them so it's one size fits all! You two brats won't have to worry about outgrowing them or anything!"

"Thanks, Ero-sennin!" Naruto said with a smile while he and the others present equipped themselves.

"No problem," Jiraiya said. "Now about those other two things. I told you I'd go talk to the toads about all of this, right? Well I did, and I thought I'd have a pretty hard time of it, getting them to believe me. Turns out, they took it pretty easily, no real fussing. Apparently, the Great Toad Sage has been babbling on and on about the Child of Prophecy getting a second chance, and when I told them what was going on with you they decided it explained things. Anyway, I've got the summoning contract with me, so once you sign it I'll go on and summon Gerotora and you'll have the key."

Naruto groaned rather loudly, remembering the process by which he attained the key once before. The others were notably confused, but wrote it off. Jiraiya pulled the contract from off of his back and laid it on the desk, opening it for Naruto to sign. Once Naruto's name was written in his blood along with a hand print, Jiraiya rolled the scroll back up and replaced it on his back before summoning Gerotora.

"**Yo**," Gerotora said, before he eyed Naruto and turned to him. "**Well, you ready or what?**"

"Yeah, sure," Naruto said with a groan. "Let's just get this over with." Naruto then opened his mouth as wide as he could.

"**Heh, guess you really have done this before.**"

The other four in the room went from confused to disgusted as Gerotora promptly jumped head-first into Naruto's mouth. However, he found himself struggling even more than last time to swallow due to the fact that he was younger and had a smaller body. Jiraiya was the first to react to his struggling and began shoving Gerotora down the rest of the way. Finally, the deed was done, and Naruto was panting and laying down on the floor, the others in varying states of shock.

"Ugh," Naruto groaned out, resisting the urge to vomit. "Never speak of this to anyone."

Before Naruto could witness any of their reactions, he passed out.

* * *

When Naruto opened his eyes once again he was standing in his mindscape, looking at Kurama who had what appeared to be an amused look on his face.

"**That was priceless**," Kurama laughed. "**The whole thing, right down your throat! The way you struggled and the looks on all their faces! I'll never forget this as long as I live! But I guess that's enough laughing for now, I think it's about time we melded our chakra again.**"

Naruto did not verbally respond, but instead tried to go through the process of unlocking the seal. However, before he could truly get started, he felt the hold of a hand on both shoulders. Naruto turned around and faced none other than his parents, Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina. Naruto had a feeling he might see them again, and could not help but be happy at seeing them once more.

"Hey mom... Hey dad."

Naruto's parents looked affectionately at their son with smiles on their faces.

"Naruto," Minato said. "I don't think I can ever express just how proud of you I am. How proud we both are, as parents. We may not have seen it first-hand, but we saw everything that happened to you in the past – future – whatever you wanna call it – through your memories. You've been through a lot, and you handled it all better than I can tell you. I'm glad you want to make a better future than the one yours might have turned out to be."

"Ya know, I wouldn't expect anything less from any child of ours," Kushina said. "Doing whatever it takes to protect the ones precious to you – you're just like your father in that regard. And like he said, we're proud of the person you've become. It's just a shame that we won't be able to see more. Now that we've appeared, our chakra will run out sooner or later."

"**Eh, maybe not**," Kurama said.

"Oh? And just what do you mean by that, Fuzzy?" Kushina asked cheerfully.

Minato did his best to stifle his laughter at his wife's nickname for Kurama. Naruto had no such reservations.

"Wow," Naruto said in between fits of laughter. "The strongest bijū in the world and you just call him 'Fuzzy?' That's great, I should start calling him that!"

"**Don't you dare!**" Kurama roared. "**It was bad enough coming from your mother, I don't want to hear it from you!**"

"But it suits you so well, you _are_ a giant fuzzy fox ya know," Kushina remarked with a smile.

"As amusing as this is," Minato said after Kurama's growling subsided. "What was it you were going to say about our chakra maybe not running out?"

"**Once we get the seal off and Naruto and I meld our chakra, I'd simply give you a bit of my chakra over time**," Kurama said. "**I honestly don't know if it will work, but it's worth a chance. If you ask me, the kid deserves parents, even if they're only a few more voices in his stupid little head. And even though I'd be giving you chakra over time, it would be negligible for me anyway.**"

"Hmm," Minato mused. "It's possible in theory but we won't know unless we try. Either way, I'm sure we'd all be grateful if it works."

"**Grateful enough for your wife and child to never call me 'Fuzzy' again?**"

"Nope," Naruto and Kushina said together.

_**It was worth a shot.**_

"I think it's about time I did what I came here to do," Naruto said.

With that declaration, Naruto finally removed the seal.

* * *

After a few minutes passed in the outside world, Naruto awakened once more to find himself back in the Hokage's office, four pairs of curious eyes all staring at him. All of them had decided on their own to heed Naruto's warning of not mentioning the strange event they had just witnessed. For Hinata, Kakashi, and Hiruzen, that decision was made out of respect; Jiraiya had simply tired of being assaulted by his godson.

"So, everything went as expected, right?" Hiruzen asked.

"Well, yes and no," Naruto answered.

"Care to explain?" Jiraiya said.

"You see, everything about the process with the seal went like it was supposed to. But now I kinda have two more voices in my head," Naruto replied as if such a statement was ordinary. Once he finished explaining the process by which the chakra of his parents was maintained, the others had to take a bit of time to gather their thoughts. Jiraiya was the first to recover, and had managed to overcome his inhibitions about being assaulted by Naruto.

"I wonder if they can have sex in your head..."

As the others expected, the comment did not go unpunished.

"Is sex all you ever think about, Ero-sennin?" Naruto asked after he finished beating Jiraiya.

"Mostly," Jiraiya said. "It helps with my writing. And I have to say, you're acting awfully childish for someone who has the life and experiences of someone five years older than you look."

"It helps to keep me in character for the other people in Konoha," Naruto said while rolling his eyes.

"Okay, that's enough fooling around for now, I think," Kakashi said in an attempt to assuage the situation.

"Indeed," Hiruzen remarked. "With that out of the way, let's talk training."

* * *

**(About One Year Later)**

The final exam for Naruto and Hinata's class at the ninja academy had come. They had accomplished much in their training since coming to the past, as had Kakashi, Jiraiya, and Hiruzen. Outside of their training, Naruto and Hinata spent as much time as they reasonably could with the other; it was a well-known fact throughout the village that the Hyūga heiress was seeing the village pariah. However, many citizens, most notably the civilians, could not understand why the Hyūga clan head would allow his daughter to even be in the company of one who was often considered an undesirable. Both children were aware of this dominant opinion, and simply did not care, for they felt that they were in love.

Over the year Naruto and Hinata had managed to reforge their friendships with their old friends in their class, for the most part. Hinata was on good terms with everyone in the class; though she was still somewhat quiet and shy most of the time, she had lost her nervousness and become more confident in herself. Naruto was able to get along with Kiba, Shikamaru, and Chōji like he always had, though Kiba did like to tease Naruto about his status as the "Dead Last." Shino was as quiet as ever, though he was glad he had found what he could consider friends in Naruto and Hinata; though he did not talk much when they were around, he was always grateful for the company. Naruto was, for the most part, tolerated by Ino and Sakura. While they had stopped being mean and rude towards him most of the time, both he and Hinata found that they could not talk with them about much without the conversation becoming about Sasuke in some way.

As for the Uchiha, his personality had mellowed out quite a bit.

* * *

**(Flashback – Nine Months Ago)**

One day during lunch at the academy, Sasuke had asked Naruto to meet him at one of the training grounds. Naruto had a pretty good idea of why Sasuke would want to meet him alone somewhere, and his hunch was correct.

"Why do you hold back?" Sasuke asked, seething. "I know you're a lot stronger than you let on at the academy. Do you think the rest of us are weak? That _I'm_ too weak? Not even worth your effort!?"

"No Sasuke, that's not why," Naruto replied. "I don't want anyone thinking I'm strong. It's better when people think you're weak; they'll underestimate you, and it will make fighting easier. It's just another way that I as a ninja can use deception against my opponents."

"Don't you have any pride as a shinobi?" Sasuke asked, still angry.

"No," Naruto answered honestly. "On the battlefield, you won't be winning any fights with pride. Pride can definitely get you killed though. And I've never heard of it saving anybody's life. It's too dangerous to go up against anyone and consider them as anything less than your equal."

"Fine then. Fight me, right now. And don't play around like you do at the academy, because I won't."

And so they fought. Naruto of course held back a great deal, but Sasuke was none the wiser and was still not able to land a hit. After five minutes, Sasuke had used most of his chakra and could barely stand with his hands on his knees, while Naruto looked no worse for wear.

"How are you so strong?"

"Just lots and lots of hard work, Sasuke."

"Yeah? Well let me tell you something, I work as hard as anyone! So what then!? How am I supposed to kill _that man_ when it feels like I'm getting nowhere with my training!?"

"Stop letting your hatred control you. I know what your brother did, but you're playing right into his hands! The more you hate him, the more he controls your life, so why don't you just get control of your life back before you do anything else!?"

This struck a chord with Sasuke. He could see the reasoning and wanted to reply, but before he could Naruto continued.

"And what will you have left if you go down this path of nothing but revenge, and finally do it, finally kill him? I'll tell you now, nothing! You'll be empty, as good as dead, with nothing left to keep you going. Is that what you want?"

"All I want is to kill him. But why don't you enlighten me; what keeps you going? Why do you want to be a ninja?"

"I want to protect the people important to me. I love Konoha and everyone in it; that's why I want to be Hokage."

"Everyone I ever cared about is dead, I have no one to protect! What would you know about it!? You've never lost anyone, you were always alone!"

"Well what makes you think I'd want to start now!? But you know, it's your own fault if you always push people away, unable to let anyone get close to you. If you just had people you cared about now, you'd have something left over once you're done with your brother."

"Why should I care about anyone when Itachi could just take them away again!?" Sasuke yelled, on the verge of tears.

"Because then you'd have someone worth fighting for besides yourself; that's how you become truly strong," Naruto answered, remembering the day Haku had said the same thing to him, the same day that he began to change his own outlook on life.

Sasuke could not find the words to say in response. Try as he might, he simply had too many thoughts racing through his mind. So no more words were spoken between the two youths; they simply sat in silence.

**(End Flashback)**

* * *

Ever since that day, Sasuke seemed to gradually come a bit more out of his shell. He found it hard to try and really become friends with the others, but he found that he liked it. He was happier than he had been in years. And his rate of improvement had increased as well, though that was also somewhat due to some help from Naruto in the form of infrequent training and sparring. He was still considered the best in the class by far, though he knew Naruto was still better than him, even if he hid it.

Shikamaru also knew Naruto was better than he let on, as did Shino. Ever since the fight between Naruto and Sasuke on the academy roof a year ago, Shikamaru and Shino were the only one of their classmates to know that Naruto had started holding back from then on. They did not know how much better he really was, but Shikamaru considered it too troublesome to try and find out now that Ino was not threatening him, and Shino decided to respect Naruto's privacy. The rest of the class, save for Sasuke and Hinata, merely believed that the result of that fight was a fluke of some sort. Ino still had her suspicions, but she had long given up on proving it; anytime she had tried to spy on Naruto, he always managed to lose her somewhere along the way. Little did she know that she was almost always tailing a Kage Bunshin that could simply dispel itself once it was out of sight.

Throughout the exam, Naruto had done his absolute best to make sure he only did just enough to pass. When the time came for the final portion, the last thing he had to do was to make a regular Bunshin, which he strangely enough still could not do. However, he did want to pass, so he did the only thing he felt he should.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto exclaimed before ten solid Naruto clones poofed into existence.

Iruka and Mizuki felt like their eyes would pop out of their heads at any moment upon seeing a mere academy student use that jutsu.

"Naruto," Iruka began, disbelief evident in his voice. "Who taught that to you?"

"_Crap_," Naruto thought. "_I forgot that no one knows I can use these._"

"_**Well, now they know**_," Kurama remarked. "**_If I thought it would work, I'd tell you to consider this a lesson in thinking before you act._**"

"_Aw, lighten up Fuzzy_," Kushina smirked. "_He couldn't just not pass, you know._"

"Uh, Jiji, er, Sandaime showed it it to me. He said I had too much chakra to even think about making regular clones, he said this was better for me," Naruto answered.

"Well, the results speak for themselves, I suppose," Iruka said. "I don't know of many ninja who can make that many clones with that jutsu, and I'd say that it warrants a passing grade, don't you Mizuki?"

Mizuki was torn. He needed Naruto to fail in order to manipulate him into stealing the Scroll of seals, but there was no reason to fail him. Starting a controversy over this would likely not end well for him, so he would have to find another way to manipulate him.

"I guess so, I can't say it's not impressive," Mizuki said.

"That settles it, then. As of now, Uzumaki Naruto, you are a genin of Konoha. I hope you do our village proud," Iruka said in an official tone. Once Naruto put on his new blue headband, Iruka spoke up again, this time in a more brotherly tone. "You almost didn't make it, Naruto, but I'm really glad you pulled through."

"Thanks, Iruka-sensei."

Naruto then went outside to join Hinata in celebration of becoming genin again. However, before he could, he was approached by Mizuki from behind.

"Hey, Naruto," Mizuki said with a fake smile. "I just want to let you know that I'm proud of you for graduating, but you only did so at the bottom of your class. Personally, I think you're better than that, so I'm gonna offer you the chance to get some extra credit."

_Really? He's trying this shit again?_ Naruto thought. Sure enough, Mizuki was using a similar ploy as when Naruto once failed to graduate with his classmates. The task was exactly the same: sneak into the Hokage tower, steal the Scroll of Seals without being detected, and learn a single jutsu from it. _Might as well play along. Maybe I can learn something else from the scroll this time? Kage Bunshin has been awfully helpful over time for me._

When Mizuki finished explaining, Naruto happily accepted and Mizuki walked away, sure that his plan would go perfectly. Naruto of course approached Hinata and told her of the situation.

"I guess it's the best way to expose him," Hinata sighed. "By the way, your headband looks horrible with your outfit. Can you give it to me so that I can change the cloth to a black one?"

"Yeah, sounds good. Anyway, I'm gonna go let jiji know what's going on," Naruto said.

And so they went their separate ways to do the tasks set out before them.

* * *

"Wow, this jutsu is perfect for me!" Naruto exclaimed after he sat down in a clearing, looking for a suitable new jutsu to add to his repertoire. He spent the next few hours learning it and practicing it in preparation for when Mizuki was supposed to meet him.

Not long after Naruto felt that he was at an adequate level with is new jutsu, he could sense Mizuki closing in on him, thanks to his ability to sense negative emotions. A few minutes later, Mizuki appeared in a high tree branch above the clearing.

"I have to admit, I'm impressed, Naruto," Mizuki said with another of his fake smiles. "Not only did you get the Scroll of Seals, but you did it without anybody finding out. So how about I come down there and get the scroll from you and then you show me the jutsu you learned?"

Naruto smirked as Mizuki jumped down in front of him. "I don't think so, _sensei_, after all I know this was just a plan to get your hands on the Scroll of Seals without any risk to yourself."

"So you know that, huh?" Mizuki said with a smile that held more menace than mirth. "In that case I think it's time you handed it over. Make it easy for me, and I'll kill you quickly. Don't make this harder than it has to be, demon."

Naruto matched his smile and held out the scroll for Mizuki to take. However, as soon as he was close enough to touch it, it poofed into smoke. Sensing danger, Mizuki leaped backwards. As he did, the Naruto in front of him exploded. Mizuki was able to avoid the worst of the blast, but the extra force from the explosion propelled him into a tree. He slid down the trunk and landed in a sitting position, just as another Naruto jumped down in front of him.

"You like that?" Naruto asked rhetorically. "That was the Bunshin Daibakuha. Pretty neat if you ask me. As for the Scroll of Seals, I have a Kage Bunshin returning it to where I found it. In fact, it's probably there by now. Sorry Mizuki, looks like your plan failed."

"You damned demon brat! You ruined everything!" Mizuki yelled as he struggled to get to his feet. "But it could be worse, you may have tricked me before with that exploding clone, but you're still nothing to me! Prepare to die, Kyūbi!"

"Call me what you want, I'm just Naruto," Naruto said calmly as he punched a still struggling Mizuki in the stomach, causing him to double over in pain. "But if you'd like to meet the Kyūbi... I can arrange that."

Mizuki was coughing up a bit of blood as he once again tried to rise to his feet. "W-W-What are y-you t-t-talking about?" he asked, his face flooding with fear.

Naruto smiled, and closed his eyes. A moment later he opened them to reveal that they had changed from a vibrant blue to a blood red with vertical slits, and the smile grew more feral.

"**He means that you have the honor of meeting me**," Kurama's voice resounded from Naruto's body, deeper and darker than that of Naruto's. "**Luckily for you, neither of us are in the mood to kill you. But it's been a few weeks since Naruto let me out to play, so a bit of exercise would feel good.**"

Mizuki was too scared to move. He could only cower before what he truly considered to be nothing more than a demon in human skin. He grit his teeth. He held the sides of his head. He shook violently. His eyes were moist with tears that his training as a ninja forbade him from shedding. He hoped this was a nightmare, but with each pain filled blow he received he realized that this was reality; he was being beaten by none other than the Kyūbi himself, and he was too scared to even run.

Now Mizuki lay sprawled out on the forest floor; he was battered, bruised, and bleeding, but his life was not in danger.

"_Geez, you think you might have gone a bit overboard, Kurama?_"

"_**Eh, he'll live. And it's not like any of this is lasting. He even has all of his body parts! Besides, the way I remember it, you left him in a similar state when you beat him up last time.**_"

"_Huh, really? Well I guess it doesn't matter. It's about time we bring him to Jiji._"

* * *

Naruto later arrived at Hiruzen's office. He was fortunate that it was late at night; there were hardly any ninja or civilians outside, so it was easy for Naruto to avoid the ones that were around as he carried a bound, gagged, and unconscious Mizuki to the Hokage.

"Ah, Naruto, good job. I trust everything went smoothly," Hiruzen said, eying the beaten form of Mizuki. "Any witnesses?"

"Nope, no one saw me. The only ones who know anything about this are me, you, Mizuki, and Hinata-chan. Not bad for my first mission, eh?" Naruto said, clearly proud of how everything went.

"Indeed," Hiruzen chuckled. "I see you did quite a number on him. And... is his flak jacket singed?"

"Oh yeah, I learned the Bunshin Daibakuha from the scroll this time, and I figured he was as good a test subject as anyone. After that I just wailed on him," Naruto said cheerfully, purposefully leaving out the fact that Kurama was responsible for most of Mizuki's injuries. He was still unsure of how others would feel about the fact that he sometimes allowed Kurama to take control of his body.

"I see, that jutsu sounds like it's particularly dangerous in your hands," Hiruzen laughed. "Unfortunately, since this wasn't an official mission, I cannot pay you."

"That's fine, jiji, learning that jutsu was good enough for me!"

"Perhaps, but there was a gift I wanted to give to you, in celebration of your graduation, and now is as good a time as any to give it to you. You've learned much of what I have to teach you about the staff in the past year, and I think it's time you had a real one, rather than one to train with."

Once he finished speaking, Hiruzen revealed a scroll and unraveled it to reveal a simple storage seal. He released it, and a staff instantly popped into his hands. It was about two meters long and black with orange ends. Once Naruto was done looking it over, he held out his hands to receive it.

"Cool, it looks great!" Naruto said as he finally held it for himself. "It's a bit heavy though, heavier than the ones I used for training. What's it made of?"

"It is the made from the densest, most sturdy wood that a certain ANBU member was able to create. It is a very good chakra conductor, and it will not be cut by kunai or most blades. And should it receive any damage, theoretically you can repair it by channeling some of Kurama's chakra into it. I had Jiraiya add some seals to it so that when you do this, the wood that grows to repair the damage will be shaped correctly, and not simply grow out of control. All in all, it is a masterpiece, if I may say so. So, what will you name it?"

"I get to name it?" Naruto asked, dumbstruck.

"Of course. It's your weapon, it's only right that you do it."

"Hmm..." Naruto mused. He wanted a good name, one that would represent how his new staff would be used. Suddenly, he was struck with inspiration. "How about Gugensenpū?"

"A fine name, indeed," Hiruzen chuckled. "I think you'd do well to keep Gugensenpū stored in a seal somewhere near your hands, it's a bit too cumbersome for you to go around lugging it everywhere you go, at least until you grow a bit more."

"Will do, jiji!" Naruto said happily before going past the desk and hugging his grandfather figure. They then said their goodbyes and Naruto left the office.

* * *

In front of Hiruzen stood a large group of jōnin. As a new batch of students had graduated the day before, teams had been formed by a collaborated effort between the Hokage and various academy instructors. Some jōnin had made specific requests for their teams, others were more content to leave such matters to others entirely. Hiruzen began listing off the new teams and who their jōnin sensei would be. He soon got to team seven.

"Team seven, led by Hatake Kakashi, will be Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, and Hyūga Hinata," Hiruzen said in a businesslike manner. Kurenai stiffened at the mention of the last team member, but decided to hold her tongue until the Hokage was done speaking. "Team eight, led by Yūhi Kurenai, will be Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, and Haruno Sakura. Team nine is still in circulation. Team ten, led by Sarutobi Asuma, will be Nara Shikamaru, Chōji Akimichi, and Yamanaka Ino. Are there any questions of concerns?"

Kurenai stepped forward. Hiruzen gestured for her to speak, and she did so.

"I specifically requested Hyūga Hinata to be a part of my team, along with Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino, in order to build a specialized tracking team. If I may ask, why do I instead have Haruno Sakura in her place?"

"There are a number of reasons, Kurenai," Hiruzen replied. "First of all, your team will already have two very capable trackers in the form of members from both the Inuzuka clan and the Aburame clan. Next, Kakashi's team is meant to be a strike unit. Haruno Sakura would not be fit for this team, as she currently is not suited for either ninjutsu or taijutsu. Hyūga Hinata is the best choice for this team; as a member of the Hyūga clan, not only is she well versed in taijutsu, but she is also capable of tracking, a trait that Kakashi's team is in need of. Finally, Haruno Sakura is very clearly a genjutsu type, one that I'm sure you could teach much to. Besides all of that, there is an interpersonal issue. Haruno Sakura is, like many females that have recently graduated, infatuated with Uchiha Sasuke to the point where those two being on the same team could be hazardous in more ways than one."

"I can see your reasoning, Hokage-sama," Kurenai said. "However, on that last point, I know for a fact that Hinata and Naruto are more than friends. Are you sure that them being on the same team would not be hazardous as well?"

"I am aware of this, however I have been told from numerous sources in and out of the academy that those two are very much capable of focusing on their objectives when they are together. Rest assured that such an issue is unlikely to come up."

While Kurenai was upset with the decision, she knew that she could not argue. She understood the reasoning, and from an objective standpoint knew that it seemed like the best decision. Kurenai bowed, accepting his reasons, and stepped back in line.

"If that is all, then you are all dismissed, enjoy your time off before becoming a sensei. In a few days when you pick your new teams up from the academy, please do not be late," Hiruzen said, eying Kakashi while he said the last part. Kakashi had no visible reaction and left with the rest of the jōnins, resolved to be extra late that day.

* * *

Gugensenpū: Embodiment of the Whirlwind

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Jutsu): This technique creates clones of the user. However, these clones are actual copies, not illusions. The user's chakra is evenly distributed among every clone, giving each clone an equal fraction of the user's overall power. The clones are capable of performing techniques on their own and can even bleed, but will usually disperse after one or two solid blows, though even then, depending on the user's mastery over the technique, it may not be the case. When the clones are dispersed, their memories and leftover chakra return to the original.

Bunshin Daibakuha (Clone Great Explosion): A technique only usable by a Kage Bunshin that causes it to explode. The size of the explosion varies depending on the amount of chakra used in the activation. Clones using this technique must willingly activate it; they cannot simply explode upon dispersion via being struck. The original body will still keep any memories and leftover chakra from a clone that uses this technique.

Note: I may have taken some liberties with how these two jutsu work, though I'm only going with what makes sense based on what we know of them from canon. While it is never outright stated to my knowledge, I can only assume that leftover chakra from a clone will always return to the original due to how a Sage Mode clone that is dispersed will put the original Naruto in Sage Mode. As for the exploding clones, I assumed more. It's clear from canon when you go back and view the fight of Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai vs. Itachi and Kisame that a clone that is going to explode can still use other jutsu beforehand, which leads me to think that you don't just make a clone that's going to explode, but rather that any shadow clone has that capability.

* * *

**A/N: Not gonna lie, I got really tired of writing up the background, hence the out-of-nowhere time skip. It felt like it was going way too slowly, and the year in between is really just training, generally uneventful academy classes, and nothing very exciting, none of which I feel like writing out. I may have missed the chance for some in depth characterization but you can at least see where the catalyst is for the changes that you see/will see in that area.**


	7. Please Let Go of Me

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**A/N: Well here we are again, folks. Not much to say this time outside of responding to a few reviews that stand out.**

**Titokhan: Glad you enjoyed it! As for the civilian council, my incarnation of them is simple: they don't exist. To my knowledge, such a thing does not exist in canon, the only council that is always actively functioning is the "Konoha Council," composed of Koharu and Homura, with some input from Danzō due to his position as a "village elder" (whatever that's supposed to entail beyond a council-like position). Despite this, the council itself has no power, and can only advise the Hokage. So while a "village council" like you see in many other fics is convenient for the plot, like canon, mine will not have a major council like that, so their role (in that sense) will be extremely limited, if not nonexistent. Whatever Danzō does on his own is another story though. As for Minato and Kushina... I have plans for them. And as far as the Hyūga clan/Hiashi is concerned, you'll see a bit of that this chapter... a bit more later.**

**Leaf Ranger / Aetemus: I get where you're coming from, but what's done is done. But one way or another, Naruto's strength is going to get revealed at some point, whether he's supposedly good, bad, or average. But messing with time can create variables that you're not prepared for, and all of those who are in on the time travel understand this. In order to have as few of those variables as possible, they want to follow the previous timeline as much as possible where it makes sense to. Unfortunately for Naruto, that means being the dead last all over again. Whether his class standing would make a significant difference or not in the grand scheme of things is anyone's guess, but most of them are more comfortable working with what they know and can predict rather than unknowns. Naruto of course entertained the idea of showing off a bit more, but he'd likely get to the point where he doesn't care about his standing in the academy anyway. Hopefully now you can see why decided to do things this way, even if you disagree.**

**But remember that try as they might, there WILL be things they don't expect. But that's not until a bit later.**

**Still looking for a Beta Reader, if you're interested just let me know in a PM!**

**With that said, I hope you enjoy the chapter! Don't forget to review, they help keep me going, and constructive criticism is always welcome!**

* * *

**Chapter 7:** _Please Let Go of Me_

* * *

The next few days went quickly. Naruto spent most of his time getting accustomed to Gugensenpū and sparring with Hinata. On the day he went to get his picture taken for his ninja registration, he decided to take a normal photo. Like Hinata, he had decided to grow his hair out. Because of this, he looked remarkably like his father, the Yondaime Hokage, thanks to having grown his hair down to his shoulders. Somehow, despite the obvious resemblance, no one had made the connection. There were a few that Naruto noticed looked at him with some amount of curiosity, but there were no overt reactions to suggest that anyone had actually figured it out. As Naruto was thinking about this, he was brought out of his thoughts by a rather familiar scene: young Konohamaru burst into the room in an attempt to defeat his grandfather, only to trip over his scarf and land on his face.

Naruto could not help but laugh at the boy's misfortune. While laughing, he also felt a great amount of nostalgia, not only because he had become something of a teacher for Konohamaru once before, but also because the boy's brashness reminded Naruto of himself.

The day once more went about as Naruto had remembered it: he taught Konohamaru the Oiroke no Jutsu, defeated Ebisu with the harem version of the technique, and told Konohamaru that there are no shortcuts to becoming Hokage, after which he was proclaimed as the young boy's rival.

Soon came the day where the newly minted genins were to meet and get acquainted with their teammates and their jōnin sensei. On one hand, Naruto was happy that he would finally get to be a real ninja again. He was looking forward to their eventual mission to Nami no Kuni, where hopefully he would be able to do something for the wayward Haku and Zabuza. On the other hand, until that time came, he was likely to be stuck doing pointless D-Rank missions. He could only hope that time would pass quickly.

Hinata was excited. She also knew that they would likely be doing mundane missions for a while, but the way she saw things a bit differently compared to Naruto. It would be a nice way to relax with him; no strenuous training, or thinking about the future and the consequences of their actions, just simple tasks with the best company she could ask for.

Naruto and Hinata soon met up at the academy and made their way to their classroom. Hinata saw Sasuke sitting at a desk by himself and was about to join him, but Naruto took her hand and when she looked at him to question him, he merely shook his head and made to sit at a different table. Hinata was a bit confused, as she and Naruto had made a habit of sitting with Sasuke for a while now. However she was sure Naruto had a reason, and decided to just go with him.

Sasuke soon noticed that they did not sit with him as they usually did, but decided to pay it no mind.

What neither Sasuke nor Hinata knew was that Naruto was trying to avoid a particular incident that he remembered happening on this day. There were other ways to avoid it of course, but Naruto decided that this was one case where a great amount of caution was warranted.

Soon many of the graduates heard what sounded like a rampage coming towards their classroom. They all turned to look as the noise got closer, and some were not that surprised at what they soon saw: Ino and Sakura racing to the classroom in a contest to see which of them would get to sit by their beloved Sasuke. When they arrived, it instantly turned into an argument about which of them was first. Many of the students found the scene quite amusing, due to the fact that Sasuke was sitting alone and had room on either side of him. Both bickering girls soon saw this, and quickly made to sit on one side of him, with admiration in their eyes. Sasuke, in classic fashion, ignored them to the best of his ability, doing his best not to show any of the annoyance he felt.

_It's almost like Naruto knew this would happen_, Sasuke thought. _Is me sitting between them supposed to be a prank?_

This was of course not Naruto's plan, but he did feel a bit satisfied at this humorous by-product of his decision.

Soon all of the new graduates had arrived and Iruka came into the classroom right on time to greet them. He gave them the usual speech about being a ninja, and then came to the point where he announced the new teams.

"Team seven will be Uzumaki Naruto, Hyūga Hinata, and Uchiha Sasuke."

Naruto and Hinata adorned smiles showing how glad they were to be on this team. Of course they knew beforehand that this would be their team, but they were glad to hear that it was official now. Sasuke, meanwhile, also looked pleased.

_Good, I'll have a team I know I can rely on_, Sasuke thought. _I know Naruto's strong, and Hinata's no slouch either. This is probably the best team I could ask for._

The girls sitting beside him had different thoughts. At the proclamation that neither of them would be on Sasuke's team, each one clung to one of his arms, afraid to lose him.

"Iruka-sensei!" Sakura spoke up. "Why does Sasuke-kun have to be on a team with Naruto? If anything that idiot would just drag him down. Personally, I think I'd be a better fit on a team with Sasuke-kun."

"As if, forehead," Ino said. "You'd slow him down just as much. If anyone should be on a team with Sasuke-kun, it should be me!"

"Please let go of me," Sasuke said, annoyed at the situation he found himself in. Unfortunately for him, they either did not notice him say anything or they simple ignored his plea.

"Okay, listen up," Iruka said over their bickering, getting everyone's attention. "The teams are final, they will not be changed no matter what any of you might say. They were made to be balanced and with specific traits in mind. Understand that as a ninja, you will rarely have a choice as to who you are teamed with. I suggest you all take that to heart now, it is one of the many things you will have to get used to if you are to be a ninja."

Finally the girls relented, and Sasuke was able to rest easy once more. Naruto was enjoying seeing Sasuke squirm, so he was a bit upset that Sasuke's discomfort was over.

"Right, now that that's settled, team eight will be Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, and Haruno Sakura."

_Great_, Sakura though sarcastically. _An idiot and his dog, and a creepy bug guy. Oh, why couldn't I just be on a team with Sasuke-kun?_

_**Shannaro**_, Inner-Sakura thought. **_As if a setback like this would get in the way of true love!_**

"Team ten will be Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Chōji."

_No!_ Ino wailed internally. _A team with a slacker like Shikamaru and a fat slob like Chōji, we'll never get anything done!_

"Okay, that's all for the team assignments. It's time for us to break for lunch, I hope you all spend this time getting to know your new teammates. After that, meet back here and you'll be introduced to your jōnin sensei. I wish you all the best of luck."

His final duty as a sensei done, Iruka left the room.

A short time later, the newly created team seven was sitting at a small table outside by some trees and bushes, taking out their lunch in a slightly awkward silence. Sasuke was the first to speak.

"You knew what would happen with Sakura and Ino, didn't you Naruto? That's why you didn't sit with me." Naruto did not contradict him, he merely grinned and said nothing. "Geez, some prank. You know how annoying I think they are."

"Well I figured you'd enjoy girls throwing themselves at you. You do like girls, right?" Naruto asked jokingly.

"Of course I do, you idiot," Sasuke said with a hint of anger, but it subsided quickly. "But look at them. All they do is chase after me, and if I had to guess I'd say they never do any sort of ninja training. That's a pretty bad way to carry on as a ninja. When I do pick a girl to be with, I want her to be a good ninja, someone who can take care of herself. As of now, that is neither of them. The only girl in our class that I could say that about is Hinata."

"Hey, don't get any ideas, jerk!" Naruto yelled defensively.

"Calm down Naruto, geez," Sasuke said in a placating manner. "I'm not saying I'm interested in Hinata. Sure, she's strong, but she's not really my type. Plus she's already got someone, though he's kind of an idiot," Sasuke rolled his eyes. "All I meant was that I can't see myself with anyone from our class."

They continued eating and conversing for a while. Unknown to Sasuke, up to that point, the three of them were not alone. Hidden in the foliage around them were Sakura and Ino, who had been hoping to talk to Sasuke before they met with their own team, but hid and listened when they became the topic of conversation. They both felt a bit crushed by Sasuke's words, but understood that not all hope was lost. If becoming a good ninja was what it took to get to Sasuke's heart, then that was what they resolved to do.

* * *

Later, Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke were the last ones left in the classroom, still waiting for their sensei to come pick them up. Sasuke was getting impatient; Naruto and Hinata were more calm about it, having dealt with their frequently late sensei before. Naruto was not simply sitting and waiting. He was preparing an elaborate prank for their sensei as punishment. It started out simply enough with an eraser lodged in the door. But that was only the beginning, something simple to put him off guard. After that Naruto began drawing an intricate series of seals.

"Huh, never would have pegged you as a fūinjutsu type," Sasuke said.

"I know a bit," Naruto said modestly. In truth, he had learned much about fūinjutsu over the past year. True to his prediction, he was a natural, though he was surprised it came so easily to him when he found out it would take a lot of patience and studying to become good. He had not mastered the art yet, but he was by his own estimation bested only by Jiraiya in terms of Konoha shinobi.

Inside Naruto's head, his father could not repress a sigh. "_I had hoped that you would put your skills in fūinjutsu to better use than this, Naruto._"

"_Aw, lighten up Minato, it's just a prank_," Kushina said._ "Besides, everyone has to start somewhere, why not practice a bit on Kakashi?_"

Naruto of course agreed with his mother.

After a while Naruto was done, and all that was left was to wait.

An hour later, Kakashi finally arrived. He had seen the eraser in the door, but figured there was no harm in humoring Naruto's pranks. As expected, he slid the door open and the eraser landed perfectly on his head. He then stood up straight and closed his eye, and walked toward the genin while rubbing his chin in mock contemplation.

"My first impression of you guys is..."

Before he could get another word out, the seal that was concealed on the floor activated as it was stepped on. Kakashi was instantly paralyzed; simultaneously, a seal on the ceiling was activated along with it. First Kakashi became drenched in some clear, sticky substance. Then came a large amount of feathers, most of which stuck to every visible part of the one-eyed ninja. Last, a raw egg dropped down in the middle of his head, which instantly cracked open in impact, spilling its contents.

"... I hate you." His expression never wavered. "Meet me on the roof in five minutes."

When Kakashi made his exit, Naruto burst out laughing, Hinata was giggling a bit, and Sasuke was doing his best not to laugh with them. Inside Naruto's head, Kushina was laughing uncontrollably, and Minato was shaking his head in exasperation. Even Kurama was laughing heartily.

Once they were done laughing at the expense of their new sensei, they got up to do as he asked and meet him on the roof. When they arrived they saw Kakashi leaning on the railing, mysteriously without the effects of Naruto's prank on him or anywhere in the area for that matter. However, each of them had silently decided not to bring it up.

"Okay, now that we're all here, I think it's time we introduced ourselves. Likes, dislikes, dreams, hobbies, whatever," Kakashi said. He waited for a moment but none of them spoke. "I guess I'll go first then. My name is Hatake Kakashi. I have no intention of telling you my likes and dislikes. As for my dreams... hmm... well I have lots of hobbies."

It was the same introduction Naruto had received last time, so he wasn't that surprised. Still, he mirrored Sasuke's incredulous expression.

"Alright, you next," Kakashi said while pointing at Naruto.

"Okay, my name is Uzumaki Naruto, I like training, my friends, Hinata-chan, and ramen. I dislike the time it takes for ramen to cook. My hobbies are pulling pranks," Naruto smirked. "Watering plants, and learning new jutsu. My dream is to become the greatest Hokage in history and bring peace to the world."

"Lofty goals," Kakashi remarked. "Now, you," Kakashi said while pointing at Hinata.

"Yes, sensei. My name is Hyūga Hinata. I like training, spending time with Naruto-kun, and cinnamon rolls. I dislike people who put others down. My hobby is pressing flowers. My dream is to become a great kunoichi."

"Okay. And lastly, you," Kakashi said as he pointed at Sasuke.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I like training and taking walks. I dislike my brother and sweet foods. My hobby is cooking. My dreams are to revive my clan and bring my brother to justice so that he can't hurt anyone anymore."

_I see Naruto's done a good job with Sasuke so far_, Kakashi thought. Since the introductions were over, Kakashi went through the explanation of how they were not truly genin yet, and that tomorrow morning they would take another test. He gave them the time and place, and suggested that they skip breakfast. Kakashi then left them to go about their own business.

* * *

When Hinata went home that day, she immediately went to speak to her father. Hiashi was somewhat surprised by her asking to speak with him; for the past year they had not talked much or had much contact. He had stopped training her seriously himself prior to that and spent much of her time out of the compound and with Naruto. However he could tell from his infrequent spars with her that she had improved greatly since she had been spending time with Naruto. In actuality, he was not aware of the true extent of her improvement, for like Naruto, Hinata had been hiding much of her true potential.

"Father, I wanted to tell you that I have been informed of who will be on my team from this point forward," Hinata said.

That was another change, Hiashi noted. She had stopped stuttering, and had become more confident not only in her skills as a kunoichi, but as a person, though her personality was still largely the same.

"I see. Who is it that you will be working with?"

"Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto. Our sensei is Hatake Kakashi."

Hiashi could not deny that this would most likely be a good team for her. He was aware that Sasuke was considered the best in this year's class, and as far as he could tell, Naruto had been nothing but a good influence on his daughter despite his less-than-stellar standing, which raised a few questions of its own, though he decided a wait-and-see approach would suffice for now, as it had before. And then there was Kakashi. Hiashi had no doubt that the man was a powerful shinobi, and he knew that strong teachers have a tendency to produce strong students. Despite these things, he was left with one lingering concern.

"That sounds like an acceptable team. But I wish to give you a preemptive warning. I do not know exactly what your relationship with Uzumaki is, whether you are simply friends or more, and perhaps I would have done well to pay more attention to you in recent times, in both personal and shinobi matters. But it is usually for the best if the line between your personal life and your shinobi life is not crossed. However, if you were to have a relationship with a teammate, take care that you do not let it get in the way of your training or any missions you go on."

"Yes father, I understand."

"Very good. If that is all you wished to speak to me about, then I think I shall retire for the night."

"Yes father, that was all. Have a good night."

Hinata waited for her father to be out of sight and hearing range before she sighed and visibly relaxed. She had not spoken much to her father ever since she traveled through time, and was apprehensive about how he would react to Naruto. Because of that, she had purposely not told him about Naruto, though the signs were all there for him to see. Much to her relief, he seemed to accept the prospect of Naruto dating her.

_Perhaps sometime soon I should ask Naruto-kun to meet my father._

* * *

The next morning, Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata arrived at the designated training ground at the time appointed by Kakashi. Before any of them could give a greeting, Naruto spoke.

"You guys want to get breakfast somewhere?"

"Why would we do that?" Sasuke asked. "He told us not to eat, plus he should be here any minute."

"Come on Sasuke, don't fall for that," Naruto chided. "It was really only a suggestion, not an order. Besides, it's dumb to go into a fight hungry, we need to be at our best. And I've heard of our sensei before. He's always like three hours late for everything, unless it's really important. If meeting us yesterday wasn't that important, then I doubt meeting us today is any more important to him."

Hinata voiced her agreement, and the two waited for a response from Sasuke, who took a moment to think about it.

"Yeah, let's do it," Sasuke answered. "Where to, though? And _don't_ say Ichiraku's, you always want to go there."

"What!? Don't be like that Sasuke, ramen is the best!" Naruto yelled. Truthfully, Naruto would not mind eating at other restaurants, but he was still hated by almost all of the owners and would not be served at their establishments. But evidently Sasuke had tired of Naruto's choice.

"_No_," Sasuke said with a tone of finality. "You said yourself that we need to be at our best before Kakashi-sensei gets here, and ramen is far from the best thing we could eat if we wanna be in top shape."

Naruto scowled, but he could not deny the truth, they should eat something besides ramen. After a few minutes of discussion, they agreed on Hinata's suggestion of a café near the Hyūga clan compound that had an extensive breakfast menu. Naruto had never been there before, and he could only hope against all odds that they would accept him as a customer.

They soon arrived outside of the café, which had a very inviting look to it, and went inside. But they did not get the warm welcome one would expect from such a cozy atmosphere. As they came to the counter to order, the man there had a smile on his face before he took a good look at the blond patron before him.

"Sorry, but we don't serve _your_ kind here," the waiter said, referring to Naruto with as much disdain as he could muster.

"What are you talking about," Sasuke said more than he asked with a hint of annoyance. "See the headbands? We're ninja of Konoha. You can't deny us service."

"I'm sorry, I wasn't clear, Uchiha-san. I was referring to _him_," the waiter said, pointing to Naruto.

Sasuke was getting visibly angry, and though she hid it better, Hinata was about to give him an angry response of her own, but before either could reply, Naruto pulled them aside so that the man could not hear him.

"Sasuke, Hinata-chan, it's okay, I forgot that I left something at my apartment anyway. Just get something for me, I don't really care what, and meet me back at the training ground." Before either of them could protest, Naruto handed them some money and fled the scene.

"What the hell was that about?" Sasuke said.

Hinata did not feel like lying, so she merely stayed silent and shrugged. She had known that Naruto was treated like this at many places, but this was the first time she had ever seen it happen to him up close, and it angered her more than she would have thought.

When Sasuke and Hinata later arrived back at the training ground, they found Naruto resting against a tree. When they approached him he quickly jumped to his feet, a large smile in place.

"Hey guys, took long enough, didn't you? So, what did you get me?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"Drop the act, idiot," Sasuke said. "What happened? Why did that guy treat you like that?"

"I dunno," Naruto lied. "Maybe I pranked him somewhere along the line?"

"Stop lying! If we're gonna be a team then we shouldn't keep secrets like this, we have to be able to trust each other, right?" Sasuke then had an idea. "If you don't tell me, then I'm gonna eat all of your food in front of you."

"No! You wouldn't!"

"I would," Sasuke smirked. "So what's it gonna be?"

Naruto knew he could easily get the food from Sasuke if he wanted, but he was having an internal debate on whether now was a good time to tell him the truth, or at least some of it. Naruto wanted to wait longer, but his mother, father, and even Kurama thought differently. In a last plea for help, Naruto looked at Hinata, silently pleading for her to change Sasuke's mind somehow. When he got no reaction out of her, he took this to mean that she also thought it was time for Sasuke to know. With that confirmation, he was finally ready to comply, however reluctantly.

"Okay, I'll tell you. But let me just say that Hinata-chan already knows some of this, and I'll tell you how after I tell you about me."

"Alright then, let's hear it," Sasuke said as he tossed a bag of food to Naruto.

And so Sasuke learned many things in the ensuing explanation. Naruto was the jinchūriki for the Kyūbi, and his parents were Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage, and Kushina Uzumaki. His parents sealed the last of their chakra into him, and thereby told him the circumstances of his birth, though he did not say that they were still present in his mind. He told Sasuke that the bijū was ripped from his mother and forced to attack Konoha by a masked man claiming to be Uchiha Madara. He grew up with very few people who actually cared for him, Iruka, the Sandaime and Teuchi, owner of Ichiraku's being among them. Everyone else in the village either hated him or was indifferent to him, with many believing him to be the Kyūbi in human form. Parents told this children to scorn him, and it was nigh impossible for him to go to stores or restaurants, as Sasuke had witnessed. When Naruto finished his tale it took Sasuke some time to process it all.

"You're serious? All of that... Really?" Sasuke asked, and received a nod from Naruto. "Damn it, no wonder you didn't want to tell me. I'd think twice about telling people that too. So how did Hinata know this beforehand?"

Sasuke turned to Hinata, expecting to hear some of the explanation from her. She had no idea what to say, and was frantically thinking of how she could find something like that out. Luckily, Naruto came to her aid.

"It's because of her Byakugan," Naruto said. "When we trained, she would see traces of orange chakra in me, originating from my stomach area, which is where the seal is. One day she asked about it, and I couldn't think of a lie or anything on the spot at the time so I decided to just tell her the truth and hope she still accepted me. After I did she made the connection to the Yondaime being my father, thanks to how we have practically the same hair and eyes."

"How could I not still accept him after that?" Hinata finally said. "He went through a lot of anguish, but he got through it all and turned into a strong, determined person. If anything, it only made me admire you more."

Naruto smiled and absently scratched the back of his head, a sign of his embarrassment. Hinata also blushed heavily, having been so open about her like for Naruto in front of Sasuke since she said it out loud.

Sasuke just smirked at their mutual embarrassment, finding it amusing, but also slightly jealous of the fact that he did not have a girl who felt for him the same way Hinata did for Naruto. He decided not to dwell on such thoughts, knowing that someday he would find someone. He decided to question Naruto on something else he had mentioned.

"You said that the person that's responsible for the death of your parents, the Kyūbi's attack on the village, and you becoming a jinchūriki was Uchiha Madara? There's no way, the only Madara I ever heard of in the clan was the one who helped to found Konoha, and there's no way he lived that long," Sasuke said.

"Well, he definitely had the Sharingan behind that mask he wore, and I know in the battle he had with the Shodai that Madara controlled the Kyūbi in the fight. Even if he's not really Madara, he's probably pretty powerful in his own right," Naruto replied thoughtfully, ignoring the fact that he knew who the masked man truly was.

"First my brother, now this guy who says he's Madara," Sasuke sighed. "It's like my clan is cursed or something."

"_**If only he knew**_," Kurama chortled.

As time went on, the group of three continued to talk and finish off their breakfast, all the while waiting for Kakashi to arrive for their final test. Eventually the sensei of team seven arrived, and he eyed the empty food containers in the area before speaking. While outwardly Kakashi berated them for not following what he said he considered thoughtful advice, inwardly he wondered why he even bothered suggesting since Naruto already knew to eat regardless. He then went on to explain the rules of the test, which were the same as Naruto remembered: try to get one of the two bells before noon, and anyone who does not will fail.

"And remember to come at me with the intent to kill, or you won't even have a chance," Kakashi finished, though he instantly regretted it once he saw a smirk and an evil glint in Naruto's eyes. Ignoring the possible omen, Kakashi gave them the signal to start, and they scattered and disappeared into the foliage.

* * *

Oiroke no Jutsu: Transforms the user into a naked woman, or in a bikini, typically with seductive posture.

* * *

**A/N: Shorter than I (and the rest of you, I'm sure) would have liked, but I've hit a bit of writer's block, and I figured I might as well post what I have so far. No worries though, it should pass soon and I shouldn't be updating any later than you'd expect me to (three weeks tops).**

**Remember to review, and I'm still looking for a Beta Reader, preferably one who is good with fight scenes.**


	8. I Think She Wants to Kill Me

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**A/N: Hooray for writer's block! Or not. Hopefully that's over with (for now at least).**

**On another note, I continue to be surprised by the overwhelmingly positive responses I get from people, and the relatively high number of reviews/favorites/follows this story is getting. I'm not complaining or anything, I'm glad people enjoy this, but like... I guess it's just unexpected, me being a completely new author and all.**

**Leaf Ranger: Yeah, I see where you're coming from. Still, I think it's strange how his enemies continued to underestimate him in canon when he was winning fights he really shouldn't have had a shot in, especially early on (Gaara and Kabuto in Part I stand out). Seriously, their arrogance was off the charts. But they kept doing it, for a _long_ time, despite Naruto's constant perseverance when faced against those who are deemed "superior" to him. It'd almost be OOC for them to actually take him seriously, unless he does something that's way more than extraordinary. But in the end, whatever suspicion could arise will stem from how well Naruto and (to a lesser extent) Hinata in particular can hide their abilities/knowledge, and if/when they are forced to do something that should obviously be far, _far_ beyond them. But perhaps I am getting ahead of myself, I'd hate to spoil things...**

**Gon Freaks: Kabuto (and his mostly inconsequential genin teammates) may not have had any real mention yet, but rest assured that I have plans for him, and everyone who is aware of the time travel is of course aware of his status as Orochimaru's spy. Knowing he is a spy is enough for them right now; since they already have a handle on what info he is passing on, due to their knowledge of the future-past combined with the fact that they already know that he's a spy, they're willing to leave him alone for now, if only so that they don't alert Orochimaru of their "suspicions." You know, "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer."**

* * *

**Chapter 8:** _... I Think She Wants to Kill Me_

* * *

Kakashi watched his future students go into hiding, hopefully to work out a plan to work together. He thought about how they might go about this, fully expecting them to get the bells. Minutes passed and yet Kakashi neither saw nor heard anything from the new genin. He debated bringing out Jiraiya's latest novel and enjoying it while he waited, but he wondered if, due to just who it was he was testing, it would be better if he focused, since he knew that Naruto and Hinata were no joke, and Sasuke was not bad himself. And despite the fact that he knew Naruto would be holding back given that he would not be using Kurama's chakra or sage mode, he was still not sure if he could handle Naruto in a one-on-one setting, with or without his Sharingan. However, it might be worth it to start reading if only to see their reactions.

_Eh, what's the worst that could happen?_

With that thought in mind, Kakashi reached into his pouch and pulled out a little orange book. He opened it and began reading, giggling intermittently.

Meanwhile, Naruto had managed to gather up his new teammates in a tree on the outskirts of the training ground.

"I'm pretty sure he's really just testing our teamwork," Naruto said.

"Of course he is. When was the last time anyone ever heard of a genin team with only two genin, idiot?" Sasuke deadpanned.

"Hey, I'm just making sure that _you_ know," Naruto said, louder than before with slight edge.

"Um, I think we need to be quieter, Kakashi-sensei might hear us otherwise," Hinata whispered.

"Yeah, I get it," Naruto mumbled. "So what's the plan?"

For another ten minutes they sat there and planned their assault on Kakashi. While they did, Kakashi was waiting out in the open, enjoying what he deemed to be Jiraiya's greatest work yet. Just as he was beginning to think his new charges might have actually ditched him, they appeared from the nearby foliage to surround him. Out of the corner of his eye, Kakashi noticed that Naruto was looking at the book in his hands, eyes twitching in annoyance.

"Really, sensei?" Naruto asked. "Don't you think you should take this seriously?"

"Ah, but this is very serious," Kakashi stated. "The plot right now is really something else, and I can't just wait to read it later. It's rather captivating. Besides, even doing this, I think I can handle a couple of fresh, cute genin."

Kakashi was not disappointed, he enjoyed Naruto's reaction, so much so that he missed the reactions of the others. Naruto stomped his foot and yelled unintelligibly, before finally pointing at Kakashi and making a declaration.

"I'm gonna kick your ass! No one looks down on Uzumaki Naruto!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Naruto rushed in at top speed, or at least as fast as the gravity seals would allow him to, which was at high genin level. Since Naruto was holding back this much, Kakashi figured he should keep reading. Kakashi easily dealt with Naruto's attacks, but things got more difficult as Hinata and Sasuke jumped in to aid him in the taijutsu fight.

Kakashi immediately noticed that something was off about Hinata's jūken. _It's different somehow... less fluid and graceful_, he thought as he continued to dodge her strikes while blocking the ones from Naruto and Sasuke. _Sasuke's is off too.. it's almost as if they're... imitations..._

Once the thought crossed his mind, it was too late. From the foliage the real Sasuke fired off his jutsu, Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu. As Naruto and his two transformed clones leapt out of the way as planned, another clone of Naruto that was with Sasuke charged Gugensenpū with wind chakra and swung it at the fireball. The fireball not only sped up, it increased in size and heat, and glowed white. Kakashi barely got out of the way, only meet face-to-face with the real Hinata. Once more Kakashi was involved in a taijutsu exchange.

Thankfully for Kakashi, Hinata also still had her gravity seals activated, so he was able to dodge her strikes while reading. But once more he was forced to split his focus as the real Naruto attempted to blindside him and go for the bells. Kakashi kicked him away at the last second, but then something horrible happened. He still had the bells, but he lost something much more valuable. Sasuke had apparently followed after his fireball immediately after firing it; using the taijutsu exchange as a distraction while Kakashi's back was turned to him, Sasuke stole the little orange book right out of Kakashi's hand. He was not expecting Sasuke to have that kind of speed this soon. Unbeknownst to him, Naruto had actually put gravity seals on Sasuke's arm warmers many months ago, and Sasuke had deactivated them to get the speed he needed for the final part of their plan.

Kakashi was terrified that he had lost his book, but he could not afford to show it. "Well, congratulations on getting the book, but you're supposed to take the bells," Kakashi said nonchalantly.

"But sensei, this was our plan all along," Naruto said as he produced fifty Kage Bunshin that were all positioned between Kakashi and Sasuke.

"Yeah, and if you don't want me to burn this dirty little book to ashes, then you're going to hand over the bells, and pass us. _All_ of us," Sasuke said.

Hinata nodded in agreement, but stayed in her taijutsu stance in case the fight continued.

_Screw this, they're passing_, Kakashi thought. _No way I'm gonna lose a first edition signed copy! Who knows when I'd get another one, if ever!?_

"So? What's your answer?"

Kakashi threw the bells at Naruto. "Okay, okay, you all pass, can I please have my book back now?"

Sasuke smirked and tossed the book to Kakashi, who caught it as gently as he could. Naruto cheered loudly and Hinata relaxed, allowing a small smile to grace her features. Of course they all knew they would pass in the end, but it still felt good for it to be official.

"Thank you Sasuke," Kakashi said. "I suppose that makes it official, good job guys, I'm glad you realized that teamwork was the real reason for this little test. After all, those who break the rules are trash, but those who would leave their teammates behind are worse than trash. Anyway, we'll meet tomorrow morning at eight for training and then maybe we'll do a mission later. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be going home so that I can read in peace."

* * *

Weeks passed and Naruto found himself to be on a mission he had hoped to never have to do again. His teammates were nearby, and all of them were waiting looking and listening for any sign of their target.

"Target found, thirty meters northeast of my position," Hinata's voice came through the radio.

"Naruto, you're the closest, go after it," Kakashi said.

"Understood," Naruto flatly stated.

Naruto calmly stalked towards their target: Tora the cat. He remembered all too well this mission, despite its overwhelming triviality. He was sure that Kakashi had chosen this mission as some sort of revenge against him for the stunts he pulled during his real genin test, and had been waiting for Tora to escape the clutches of the Fire Daimyō's wife as it had done so often in the previous timeline. Though he was able to take solace in the fact that he would soon be on a mission to Nami no Kuni, it did not do much to alleviate his current frustrations at D-Rank missions, in particular the one he was currently on.

As he got within five meters of Tora, she turned to face him, now aware of his presence. She was also aware that he was sent to bring her back to her abhorrence of an owner. He also had the scent of a fox, a creature she hated. She wanted him dead.

"... I think she wants to kill me," Naruto said, surprised that he could sense the negative emotions of a simple house-cat, though his tone reflected his amusement at the situation.

"Whatever, idiot. It's just a cat, what's it gonna do?" Sasuke asked sarcastically.

"Try and kill me, that's what. What a way to go, killed by a cat!" Naruto wailed melodramatically, earning him some hissing from Tora.

Sasuke snorted. "At least you'll be famous for something since you won't be Hokage, being the one and only ninja to be killed by a cat."

"Enough joking around," Kakashi said, hiding his amusement. "Just grab her Naruto, we're converging on your position for backup, just in case."

"Got it," Naruto said. Before Tora could react, Naruto lunged and grabbed her. He held her securely in his arms, not tight enough to hurt but enough to make sure she could not escape. She struggled in vain, but quickly came to the conclusion that she was not going to escape so easily. Tora then did her best to make good on her intentions to kill the young ninja that had hold of her. She clawed and scratched whatever she could, and even bit his hand. But Naruto did not let go.

"Stupid cat, I really should just knock it out," Naruto muttered, not caring about the cuts and scratches he was getting, knowing they would heal quickly. Apparently Tora understood his words, or at least his intent, and doubled her efforts. "... I really hope she doesn't have rabies or something."

Hinata was the first to arrive, and upon seeing Naruto's predicament she could not help but giggle at first. She then walked over and relieved Naruto. For some reason Tora was perfectly happy in Hinata's arms, and did not struggle at all.

"Aw, she's not so bad," Hinata said as she scratched Tora behind the ears, who then purred contentedly in response.

"_That cat reminds me of the cat my genin team used to have to chase around sometimes_," Kushina said. "_That little thing was more of a demon than Kurama ever was_."

"_**... I don't know how to respond to that**_," Kurama deadpanned.

"_Oh, you mean Shishi?_" Minato chimed in. "_She was always gentle when my team went to find her._"

"_Lucky you._"

"I think they're ready for a C-Rank, Hokage-sama," Kakashi said after Team Seven returned Tora to the Fire Daimyō's wife.

"Are you sure, Kakashi?" Hiruzen asked, keeping up the facade. He had of course mentioned to Kakashi that the mission to Nami had come in earlier that day, but both thought that Team Seven should have some fun with Tora first.

"Of course, Hokage-sama," Kakashi replied. "I've trained them well, and I myself should be more than enough to keep them safe if anything goes wrong."

"Very well," Hiruzen agreed, knowing that this team would have no real problems even with the "unforeseen" consequences. "Send in Tazuna."

When Tazuna came in, he looked just as Naruto remembered him: like an old drunkard. Still, seeing him brought a smile to Naruto's face. It did not last long.

"A bunch of kids and a one-eyed wonder? They don't even look like real ninjas, especially the little girl. She blind or something?" Tazuna said with a bit of a slur.

Naruto and Sasuke were rather annoyed, as was Hinata, though she refused to show it and thereby lose her composure. Hiruzen, who had of course heard the outburst, laughed inwardly. Kakashi of course took it in stride, not really caring.

"Okay kids, calm down, it's not a big deal," Kakashi said before turning to Tazuna with an eye-smile. "Rest assured Tazuna-san, my team and I will be more than enough for any silly little bandits we might come across. And I happen to be a jōnin, so I should be able to handle any unforeseen threats."

Tazuna tensed up when Kakashi mentioned "unforeseen threats," but otherwise did not react besides a grunt of acknowledgment and a swig of the saké in his hand.

"Okay team, we're gonna be out of the village for a while, so pack up and meet me at the village gates in thirty minutes," Kakashi said.

* * *

Team seven and Tazuna were on their way to Nami. Naruto was visibly giddy over the fact that he would get to see some familiar faces he had not seen in a long time, though Tazuna and Sasuke chalked it up to excitement over leaving the village for the first time. However he soon saw the warning signs that would make this mission more difficult than it should be: before him was the same puddle he had encountered the last time he made this trip, and he could sense the negative emotions of those who were using it to hide. The rest of Team Seven noticed the abnormality, but knew not to do anything without instructions from their sensei. They passed the puddle, and not long after, the first fight of the mission had abruptly begun.

Two figures rose out of the puddle and they immediately wrapped Kakashi in the bladed chain that connected their arms.

"One down," one of them muttered as they both pulled on the chain. Kakashi appeared to be ripped to shreds, his various body parts laying in bloody heaps on the ground. Tazuna was horrified, sure that his greatest protector was now dead, though the rest of Team Seven were aware that their sensei had used the Kawarimi no Jutsu to escape certain death.

The two foreign missing-nin then charged at what they assumed to be weak genin, not wanting to take any chances in case they were attacked while going after the bridge builder.

They did not expect the boy with black hair to shoot a rather large fireball at them. Though surprised, they kept their cool and jumped in the air to avoid them.

They did not expect the blond kid to jump at them with a staff that he did not have a few seconds before. The boy then charged it with wind chakra and swung it upwards between them. It caught the chain that connected them and the boy swung them over his head and towards the ground while releasing the built up chakra. The high powered wind forced them to plummet into the hard ground faster than they could right themselves.

They did not expect the meek looking girl to follow up on their unfavorable predicament, hitting them in various places with chakra-laced taps, paralyzing them in uncomfortable positions on the ground.

And they certainly did not expect that unreliable looking sensei to come out from the trees in one piece completely unharmed.

"Good job, team," Kakashi lazily drawled. "Your teamwork was good and you didn't freeze up or anything, and you dealt with them appropriately. I think these guys are the Demon Brothers from Kiri, both chūnin level, so that's a nice little accomplishment. The question is, what were they doing here?"

Tazuna began to sweat but he was not about to tell them the real mission parameters, and instead focused on something else when he spoke. "How the hell are you alive!? We watched you get cut to pieces!"

"Kawarimi." Kakashi said simply. Seeing Tazuna's dumbfounded look, he continued. "I switched places with a log. It's a ninja thing, don't worry about it. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to have a chat with our new friends here and find out exactly what's going on."

With that Kakashi dragged the two terrified but paralyzed missing-nin into the woods to begin his interrogation. The rest of them casually talked about various, unimportant subjects until Kakashi came back, alone.

"So, what did you find out?" Tazuna queried, doing his best to mask his worry. "And where are those other two ninja you guys beat?"

"Well, as for where they are, they're dead now. I decapitated them and sealed their heads away so we can collect their bounties later," Kakashi said in a much-too happy way.

_Ninjas are fucking crazy_, Tazuna thought to himself.

"More importantly," Kakashi went on, getting more serious. "I found out just why they were here. They were after you, Tazuna-san. Care to explain?"

Tazuna could feel himself begin to sweat, but knew that the best thing to do now was tell the whole truth now that they knew something was up. Of course, everyone in the group but Sasuke was aware of the whole story, but they still needed to hear it from Tazuna himself. So the old bridge builder regaled them with Nami's current tragic affairs; Nami was under the control of an evil man named Gato, who on the surface was no more than a wealthy shipping magnate, but was involved in all kinds of illegal, underhanded, and morally unethical things. Currently, he wanted Tazuna dead because his bridge would cripple his economic hold on Nami due to the fact that anyone could simply cross it, rather than having to use water based transportation, all of which he controlled himself.

"Well team, what do you think?" Kakashi asked before continuing. "The Demon Brothers are heavily associated with man by the name of Zabuza Momochi, a jōnin-level missing-nin. I can probably take him myself, but if he's got anyone else with him it could get dangerous."

The genin unanimously agreed to continue, completely undeterred.

"Looks like it's your lucky day, Tazuna-san," Kakashi said with an eye-smile. "We'll continue the mission, but keep in mind that this is now on the level of an A-Rank, and we expect you to pay accordingly, in due time since you obviously can't right now."

Tazuna was elated, not only were these ninjas, even the kids, obviously up to the task of defending him based on what he had seen, but they were nice enough to continue the mission even though he lied about the parameters. He thanked them as gratefully as he could before they continued down the road.

* * *

They were now on the road that led to the heart of Nami, having quietly crossed the large body of water in a small boat in order to cross territories without bring attention to themselves. There was a fine mist along the road, and it was gradually getting thicker as they got closer and closer to Tazuna's home.

Naruto noticed that the area they were now in was around where he and his team had fought Zabuza once before, and mentally went on guard. Less than a minute later, he could sense the negative emotions of someone in the nearby woods, and threw a kunai at the location he had sensed someone. When he went to check, it was just as he remembered. There was nothing but a terrified rabbit in place of where he was sure Zabuza was moments ago. The result of a well timed Kawarimi.

Suddenly, he sensed them again.

"Get down!" Naruto and Kakashi yelled simultaneously. They all did, with Kakashi pulling Tazuna down with him.

As Naruto expected, Zabuza's huge sword, Kubikiribōchō came spinning madly over all of their heads. It lodged itself in a tree not far from their position, with the man himself suddenly appearing while balancing himself on the now stuck sword.

"Zabuza Momochi," Kakashi said loudly enough for everyone present to hear while they all got into standing position. "So you show yourself after all."

"Copy Ninja Kakashi, well damn. It's no wonder the Demon Brothers failed," Zabuza said sinisterly with a hint of humor. "Though, it's no big loss. They were shitty shinobi, and as annoying as they come."

Haku, who was hidden nearby, could not help but agree inwardly.

"So, any chance you wanna hand the bridge builder over to me now? It'd save us both a lot of trouble."

"Not a chance, No-Brows!" Naruto exclaimed. "It's our mission to protect him, no way we'd send him to his death like that!"

"Loudmouth brat," Zabuza growled, perturbed by Naruto's nickname for him. "You kids think you can do anything in the world of ninja? This is no place for little green upstarts; by the time I was your age, I already had the blood of hundreds on my hands, why do you think they call me the Demon of the Mist? Before you know it you'll all be dead at my feet, just a few more brats padding my kill count."

"Yeah? Well if you're done with your stupid monologue, how about you do something besides try to scare us?" Naruto said cheekily.

"Well said, Naruto," Kakashi praised. "But leave the fighting to me this time, this one's on another level." Of course, Kakashi knew that Naruto would likely have no problem in the fight, but he also knew that Naruto had to maintain his cover. Kakashi also wanted to test himself with a real fight, and see just how far his training over the past year had taken him. With those thoughts in mind, he deactivated his gravity seals and lifted his headband, revealing his Sharingan.

"Oh? The Sharingan already? I'm honored, Kakashi," Zabuza mocked.

"There's no point in holding back, not when we've got so much at stake," Kakashi said.

"Guess I'll go all out too. Let's get this over with, the sooner I get paid, the better," Zabuza said. "Kirigakure no Jutsu!"

In normal circumstances, Kakashi would be worried by the use of this technique against him. However, the circumstances were anything but normal when Naruto was present, and as usual the boy did not disappoint. As soon as Naruto saw the mist getting thickening, he unsealed Gugensenpū and swung it in a wide arc in front of him, effectively blowing away all traces of the mist and restoring sight to everyone in the clearing.

_Of all the things some stupid genin from Konoha can do, he can use wind manipulation?_ Zabuza thought with incredulity. _That makes this fight a bit harder. I could signal for help, but then again it's probably better if Haku stays hidden for now, just in case._

"Looks like one of your students isn't so useless after all, Kakashi. But in the end it won't matter, this fight is just gonna take a bit longer than I'd like now."

Inwardly, Zabuza began thinking that his best option might be to use a Mizu Bunshin to sneak up on the genin and the bridge builder, and have it kill them before they can do anything. However, he noticed the white eyes of the girl, and immediately knew she was a Hyūga. Knowing the abilities of the Byakugan, he decided that it would be a waste of chakra attempt anything sneaky. To his chagrin, he would have to be straightforward in his endeavors this time.

Deciding he would try the numbers game, Zabuza made ten Mizu Bunshin and had them surround Kakashi. He wondered if the Copy Ninja would attempt a similar strategy. Kakashi merely smirked beneath his mask and held his ground. Suddenly, all ten clones rushed at Kakashi at once, and this time he did not sit idly; instead, he used one of the jutsu that Sasuke had once derived from Chidori.

"Chidori Nagashi!" Kakashi yelled.

Wisps of lightning chakra instantly emanated all around Kakashi, and none of Zabuza's Mizu Bunshin were spared electrocution. After being struck by the jutsu, each clone gave a quick jolt before reverting back to water on the ground.

_Guess I can't overwhelm him with clones, they're too weak individually to do anything about that jutsu he just used_, Zabuza thought.

He decided his best course of action would be to go at Kakashi with kenjutsu, with only infrequent ninjutsu since that was Kakashi's specialty. Zabuza readied his blade, and Kakashi readied a kunai in response.

With surprising speed and agility, Zabuza rushed forward and skillfully swung Kubikiribōchō at Kakashi. Kakashi easily intercepted the assault with his kunai, but in a contest of strength he knew he was at a disadvantage. Kakashi disengaged and Zabuza used the opportunity to go through some hand signs. Kakashi saw this and copied him immediately.

"Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!" Kakashi and Zabuza said at the same time.

Both water dragons battled for supremacy. But in the end they were equal in strength, and wound up smashing into each other several meters in the air. The remains of both jutsus rained down upon those present, soaking both fighters.

_That fucking copycat_, Zabuza inwardly snarled.

In a rage, Zabuza once more rushed at Kakashi faster than the last time, his blade poised to kill. Kakashi saw that his attacks would be far fiercer this time around, and made to dodge backwards. But Zabuza continued to run madly, swinging Kubikiribōchō relentlessly, forcing Kakashi to continue backwards until he was forced to the lake. Immediately Kakashi knew that Zabuza planned to trap him by means of the Suirō no Jutsu. Kakashi saw him begin weaving through hand signs for the technique and jumped into the air before using another technique he had reverse engineered.

"Chidori Eisō!" Kakashi yelled.

Zabuza was sure that based on the name of the jutsu that it would once more utilize lightning chakra. Given that he was still drenched in water from the water dragons before, he was sure that getting hit by whatever Kakashi was about to do would be debilitating. Taking no chances, he stopped weaving signs and jumped backwards onto the shore. Zabuza quickly found that his assumption was correct, as he saw a long beam of lightning chakra come out of Kakashi's hand and instantly extend down to where he just was and enter the water below. Around the point of entry he could see lightning crackling along the surface in a five meter radius. Before he could come up with another plan of action, he once more heard Kakashi's voice.

"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!"

"Shit!" Zabuza cursed. He knew he could not escape, given the scale of the technique. He could only guard himself as best as he could as the water cascaded towards him. The wave hit him with the force of an Akimichi, and he felt himself tumbling with the water at high speeds until he crashed against a tree. Still the onslaught continued and he was forced to endure the high pressure. Finally the water subsided, but it was all he could do to simply sit up against the tree he was just pinned to. He saw Kubikiribōchō laying on the ground about a meter away and reached out vainly for it with his right hand. But before he could reach it, he heard the sound of metal cutting through air and felt his right hand get impaled by a thrown kunai.

Zabuza's hand was in immense pain but he refused to give Kakashi any kind of satisfaction by voicing it. He merely looked up and saw the man who had utterly beaten him calmly walking forward.

"Just... do it already," Zabuza said, his tone reflecting only a small amount of the pain his body was in.

Before Kakashi could respond in either word or action, two senbon whipped through the air and struck Zabuza in the neck, seemingly killing him. Haku, disguised as a hunter-nin from Kiri, jumped down from the trees and approached the still body of Zabuza.

"Thank you for weakening him, I don't think I could have taken him down on my own," Haku said.

"No problem, just doing my job," Kakashi calmly replied, not letting on that he knew exactly who was behind that mask and what they were really doing.

"Of course," Haku replied. "If you'll excuse me, now I must do my job and dispose of his body."

Haku then picked Zabuza up around the middle and grabbed Kubikiribōchō and disappeared in a Shunshin. Kakashi took this as his cue to replace his headband over his Sharingan eye.

"Well, that was fun," Kakashi said with an eye smile. The others present sweatdropped.

_Yup, definitely crazy_, Tazuna thought.

* * *

Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique) – A high-speed movement technique, allowing a ninja to move short to long distances at an almost untraceable speed. To an observer, it appears as if the user has teleported. It is sometimes accompanied by smoke, leaves, or other substances to disguise the movement or distract opponents.

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Jutsu) - This technique creates solid clones of the user. The user's chakra is evenly distributed among every clone, giving each clone an equal fraction of the user's overall power. The clones are capable of performing techniques on their own and can even bleed, but will usually disperse after one or two solid blows, though even then, depending on the user's mastery over the technique, it may not be the case. When the clones are dispersed, their memories and leftover chakra return to the original.

Kawarimi no Jutsu (Body Replacement Jutsu) – The user replaces their own body with some other object, generally with a block of wood, the moment an attack lands. This creates an optical illusion, making the enemy think the attack was successful.

Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu) – A technique where chakra kneaded inside the body is converted into fire and expelled from the mouth, either as a massive orb of roaring flame or as a continuous flame-thrower.

Kirigakure no Jutsu (Hiding in Mist Technique) – The user causes a mist to spring forth by lifting up some water from either a preexisting source or expelling it from their mouth. Often used by masters of silent killing.

Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique) – This technique shapes a large amount of water into a giant, powerful dragon, which hits the opponent with formidable might, dealing physical damage. The ideal place to use it is near a body of water, but if the user's skill allows it, it is possible to use it even in a place where there is none. The amount of water used will be in proportion with the user's skill.

Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu (Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique) – This technique extends water over a large scale, surges and rises up to several dozens of meters high. Then it streams down to the ground in one big cascade, much like a gigantic waterfall. In doing so, it resembles a huge wave, with tremendous power that can hollow out the ground.

Mizu Bunshin (Water Clone Technique) – The user creates clones out of water that have one-tenth of the original person's power. The range of the clone is limited however, as it cannot travel very far from the original body without losing control. If the water clones are injured enough they will revert back to normal water.

Suirō no Jutsu (Water Prison Technique) – This technique is used to trap a victim inside a virtually inescapable sphere of water. The only downside to this technique is that the user must keep at least one arm inside the sphere at all times in order for the victim to remain imprisoned. This technique requires a sufficient amount of water, which can be provided by expelling it from one's mouth. Once trapped the target is unable to move or breathe while within it due to the heaviness of the water.

Chidori (One Thousand Birds) – This technique channels a large amount of lightning chakra to the user's hand. The high concentration of electricity produces a sound reminiscent of many birds chirping, hence the name. Once the technique is completed, the user charges forward and thrusts the Chidori into the target. Due to the high speed at which the technique is used, it is considered an assassination jutsu.

Chidori Nagashi (One Thousand Birds Current) – By releasing the Chidori in every direction in small streams, an electrical discharge flows from the user's entire body allowing him to affect multiple enemies.

Chidori Eisō (One Thousand Birds Sharp Spear) – This technique uses shape transformation to form the original Chidori into a spear or blade-shape, adapting it for mid-range attacks with a maximum range of about five meters, though the increased range decreases the overall power.

* * *

**A/N: There you go. We've finally gotten to Nami! And there were a few more fights, one of them kind of major (hope I did okay with those even though they're fairly short). But what now? Who will live? Who will die? Find out next time on Dragonball Z!**

**Or in the next chapter. One or the other.**

**So yeah. Review and whatnot, and if you think you're up for it, ask me about being a Beta Reader in a PM!**

**On another note, I had an idea for a different story. It has a good premise and one of my favorite characters would have more of the spotlight he deserves. Not gonna give away any more details (even though I'm sure it has been done before in some capacity), because if I do it then I want to surprise people.**


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